Happenstance
by ARTEMIS01121986
Summary: Just before leaving Hogwarts for good, Draco and a fellow student share a night in the tower together. Little did Draco know, that night made him a father. What happens when he bumps into her and the baby, one year later?
1. Misjudgement

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 1:** **Misjudgment**

It was almost over. Finally, after nearly seven long years, the early morning classes and long nights filled with homework and essays were coming to an end. In just three weeks time the seventh year Hogwarts students would board the Hogwarts Express and never look back; at least not until their class reunion. Perhaps no one was as excited about this as Draco Malfoy.

At the end of last summer, just two weeks after Harry Potter had successfully defeated the Dark Lord, and his father, Lucius Malfoy, had someone managed to be released from Azkaban, Draco received word that he had been elected Head Boy. In his mind, his seventh year was to be filled with late night parties in the Slytherin dorm and terrorizing all those beneath him; which to Draco was everyone. In reality, his seventh year was chock full of late nights patrolling the corridors and supervising detentions, having to spend his weekends tutoring younger students, and endless hours studying for his NEWT's. The worst part about it was that he ended up having to spend a great deal of time with the Head Girl, and naturally Hermione Granger had been chosen to fill the coveted position which meant Potter and Weasley were two steps behind her at all times. Needless to say, Draco's seventh year hadn't quite met his expectations.

With their NEWT's so close, Draco had decided that if he didn't already know it, he wasn't going to and therefore abandoned his text books and scrolls. Unfortunately, his usual partners in crime, Crabbe and Goyle, were too busy starting to study for their NEWT's to go gallivanting around with Draco, so he was forced to find his own entertainment until after testing had come to a close. The trouble was, there were only so many things a person could do at Hogwarts whilst alone and none of them were particularly amusing.

'_This sucks,'_ Draco thought, as he roamed the halls of the third floor while attending to his Head Boy duties. After deciding to put away his study materials, Draco had spent the last three days more or less wandering the halls aimlessly, occasionally stumbling across someone who was breaking the rules which gave him the opportunity to make them miserable. But for the most part, he just roamed.

"Hey, Draco!" Blaise Zabini shouted, jogging over to the blonde wizard. "Malfoy, wait up!"

"Zabini," Draco said nodding, the two engaging in some sort of weird handshake. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing really," the handsome black wizard answered as he and Draco headed down another corridor. "I'm bored out of my mind. The common room is absolutely silent cause everyone's studying. It's crazy! Even Pansy's silent."

"That's a first," Draco said, laughing. Even he had to admit his girlfriend didn't quite know when to shut up; she even tried to talk to him during sex and Draco couldn't stand that. Once, he'd actually managed to put a silencing spell on her but when she found out she wouldn't even kiss him for month so he decided against ever doing that again. "Why aren't you studying?"

"Don't need to," Blaise said, matter-of-factly just as they were approaching the library. "I pay attention during the year so I don't have to cram."

"Me too," Draco said, opening the library doors and entering, Blaise following closely behind.

"You almost done?" he asked Draco. "We could go play wizard's chess or something."

"Almost, I've just got to finish the library and then I'm free." Draco said, scanning the aisle's for anyone who was out of their common room after curfew. As they reached one of the last rows of shelves, which happened to be the aisle that contained all of the books on mythical creatures, the boys stopped dead in their tracks as none other than Luna Lovegood came into sight. The book that the spacey blonde wanted was up really high on the shelves, forcing the witch to jump up and down to reach it. Most would wonder why she didn't just use her wand to retrieve the book, after all she was a witch. However, her reasoning for this was probably because her wand was busy holding her thick waist length locks in a messy bun. As she jumped up and down, Draco and Blaise couldn't help but watch the skirt of her uniform as it rose and fell with her movements; more and more of her milky white skin exposing itself the higher she jumped.

"Why... must... you... elude... me... you... wondrous... keeper... of... knowledge," she said, punctuating each word with a heartfelt leap towards the book that lay just out of her reach. "Oh, bother!" she grumbled, stamping her foot like a petulant child who didn't get their way.

"Well, if it isn't Loony Lovegood," Draco drawled, as he approached the girl who had resumed her attempts at retrieving the book she wanted. At the sound of someone else's voice, Luna's head whipped around to see who had disturbed her. "You're out after curfew."

"Yes, I am," she replied, turning back to the bookcase and continuing her struggle. "I just need to find out one thing and then I'll get back to my dorm."

"Since you're out after curfew, I get to punish you," Draco replied, pacing a circle around the girl who simply stared back at him with a wide-eyed dazed expression on her face. Over the years, Luna Lovegood had become a beautiful young witch, granted she wasn't your typical picture of beauty. Her thick waist length blonde hair and silvery blue eyes complimented her pale complexion wonderfully. Were it not for her rather unusual personality, Luna would have probably been a pretty popular girl. But thanks to her insistence that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, among other things, were real, she was some what of a social pariah. "What to do? What to do?" Draco said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Well, before you decide, could you get that book for me?" she asked politely, pointing towards a large tome on the top shelf.

"Loony..." Draco began. "Do you even hear what people say about you? The names they call you?"

"Yes, I do," she replied, turning away from Draco and once again trying to retrieve her book.

"They call you crazy, they make fun of you constantly and they hide your stuff. Yet, you act like you haven't got a clue. What are you on?" he asked, bewildered by her lack of concern over her reputation. When she didn't respond to him, he persisted in his tormenting her. "Looks like you'll always be some weird, pathetic little twit who's so wrapped up in believing that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks are real that she never actually ventures into reality." Luna slowly turned to him, a downtrodden look on her face.

"I'm sad for you," she said, quietly. Without explaining further she tugged her wand from her hair, the long mane tumbling down the length of her back, and aimed it at the book. Once in hand, she turned to the page she needed and whispered a spell to copy it onto a piece of parchment. Draco stared at her flabbergasted by her statement, as he paced furiously in front of her table. Once finished with the book, Luna returned it to its spot on the shelf, gathered her things and headed towards the door. Unable to leave well enough alone, Draco stormed after her.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" he demanded, as he stalked up next to her, forcing the lithe girl against the stone wall of the corridor. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean!"

"Don't you ever get tired of being so angry all of the time?" she asked, softly. In response, Draco slapped the books in her hand hard causing them to fall to the ground. "All that anger can't be healthy."

"Where do you get off?" he asked, pacing back and forth in front of her. "Where the fuck do you get off, you pathetic, delusion... People like you are why I wish the Dark Lord had succeeded in wiping the filth out of our world!"

"I suppose anyone who isn't Pureblood is considered filth?" she asked, staring up at the much taller boy with a quizzical look on her face.

"You're damn right!"

"Well, if that happened than the wizarding world wouldn't exist anymore," she said, laughingly. Draco stared at her, confused by what she meant. "Inbreeding affects fertility. If you can't produce offspring eventually your line dies out. There are only so many Pureblood families and they're already well integrated. Eliminating Halfbloods and Muggle-borns would be suicide."

"That's ridiculous!" he scoffed.

"Did you know that you're related to your girlfriend by blood?" she asked, bending to pick up her books. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to finish my research so that I can get it to Professor Snape in time." With that said, Luna left a dumbfounded Draco standing in the corridor, as she returned to her room.

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That night when Luna returned to her room, she set to work at finishing up the research she had been working on, just as she had told Draco she was going to. Once finished, she decided to get ready for bed, as it was well after three in the morning and classes started early. While the rest of Luna's night was pretty uneventful, serene even; Draco's most certainly wasn't. He didn't know what it was that she had said that had gotten to him the most, but whatever it was, he simply couldn't get it out of his mind. He had known, the moment Luna had said it, that she was correct in stating that he was always angry; though he didn't know where all of his anger had come from. His life was as good as a person's life could possibly be, so he saw no reason for his uncontrollable temper. No matter how much her accurate interpretation of his anger bothered him, he was even more agitated by her pronouncing that he and Pansy were related by blood. True, they were related by blood, but just barely. Try as he might, Draco couldn't get Luna's words out of his mind.

Shortly after four a.m. Draco abandoned his attempts at getting to sleep and instead went down to the Slytherin common room, in hopes of getting in some good reading before the other's got up and disturbed him. As he descended the staircase he noticed that there were lights coming from the common room. Prepared to throw whoever was down there out, Draco entered the luxurious living space. Once inside, he found several of his friends gathered around a large wooden table pouring over thick textbooks.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, approaching his friends and girlfriend.

"Studying," Goyle whined, running his fingers through his short hair roughly.

"This sucks," Crabbe grumbled, slamming his head down on the desk.

"Did we wake you, babe?" Pansy asked, standing up so that she could kiss her boyfriend. Smoothly, Draco dodged her mouth and instead gave her a hug. For about an hour, Draco helped the three of them study for their potions NEWT's but as the clock chimed five he asked Pansy to come and talk with him by the fire. After settling down on the leather couch, Draco turned to her.

"Pansy, I don't think we should see each other anymore," he whispered, not wanting Goyle or Crabbe to overhear. "I think we're at different stages in our lives and..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" she snapped, jumping up and staring down at him. "Different stages in our lives! That's complete and utter bullshit!"

"No, it's not Pansy," he argued, trying to diffuse the situation. "Look, we're not right for each other and there's no since in wasting both of our time. You'll find someone else."

"I don't want anyone else," she whispered, her eyes tearing up. "You said that we would get married. Or was that just to get me in the sack?"

"Pansy, people change. Plans change. I'm sorry." Standing, Draco left the heartbroken witch and returned to his room. Within ten minutes, he had fallen asleep.

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"Professor Snape," Luna said, as she dashed into the Potions classroom with a large portfolio filled with pages and pages of scribbled on parchment. "Professor, you said that if I put all of my research together you'd look over it before the end of term." Once she arrived at his desk, she slammed the heavy portfolio down and waited for him to look up at her before continuing. "Now, the first three pages are the one's that I need you to look over, but I've put it all together just in case you need to cross reference anything."

"Just leave it on the desk, Miss Lovegood," Snape said, turning his attention back to the essay he was grading.

"I can't thank you enough, Professor," she said, with a thankful and dreamy look on her face. "I'm really excited to hear what you think about it."

"Miss Lovegood," he snapped. "Go."

"Thanks again," she shouted, as she dashed out of the room, her earrings made out of several knuts tinkling wildly with every step.

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Luna Lovegood was a very resilient young witch. All of her life she'd had to deal with people making fun of her for her beliefs and her personality, and for sixteen years she had managed to ignore it and simply go on with her life, never changing or compromising herself because of their ridicule. The main reason she was able to endure their teasing and taunting was because Luna didn't really care what people she didn't know thought of her. She knew who she was and that was all that mattered. That is until she made friends. During her third year, Ginny Weasley had reached out to Luna and the two had quickly become friends. Through Ginny, Luna had met Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom, which instantly more than doubled her circle of friends. That was when she began to pay attention to what people were saying about her, though she didn't let it change her. After all, if her friends didn't have the same complaints than why should she care what strangers thought.

One Saturday afternoon, during the end of the second to the last week of school, Luna was wandering around the Black Lake aimlessly when she spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting underneath a nearby tree. Quietly, Luna crept up on the trio hoping to scare them. As she got closer, she was able to hear what they were saying.

"Did you see Loony this morning?" Ron asked, laughing loudly; Harry and Hermione joined in as they nodded. "What was she wearing?"

"It's called a tutu, Ron," Hermione answered, still laughing at the recollection of what Luna looked like that morning. Since it was Saturday, Luna was able to wear whatever she wanted, so she chose to wear a black knee length tulle skirt and a plain white tank top. Perhaps the fullness of her skirt was a bit out of place but, for the most part, there really wasn't anything too odd about her outfit.

"A tutu?" he snickered. "Sound's like something she'd wear."

"Loony's got some issues," Harry said, agreeing with Ron and Hermione's assessment of the younger witch. "You'd think she'd knock off some of the weird stuff after hearing what people were saying."

"I know," Hermione agreed. "I'm beginning to think she's a bit slow, if you know what I mean."

"That must be it," Luna said, trying to laugh it off even though she was completely heartbroken by their words. "I must be loony!"

"Loony, I mean Luna," Hermione stammered, surprised to see the object of their discussion standing behind them.

"Don't bother," Luna replied, turning and quickly walking back towards the castle.

"Shit," Ron swore under his breath.

"I second that," Harry said, while Hermione nodded in agreement.

From that point on, every taunt or snicker that Luna heard cut her like a knife. In a matter of moments, the only thing keeping her grounded, her friends, had completely abandoned her. She couldn't believe that she had been so naive as to actually believe that they liked her for who she was. Deep down, Luna had to admit that she wasn't exactly surprised by their opinion of her. She had always felt like they were too good to be her friends, which was one of the reasons why she was so in awe of them. But after hearing what they really felt about her, she couldn't help but feel betrayed; the cushion she had built around herself had been absolutely destroyed leaving her completely vulnerable to attack. It wasn't that people started picking on her more than usual, it was just that with no one left to stand in her proverbial corner, Luna couldn't ignore the teasing any longer. Several times throughout the final weeks of school, she had found herself locked in Moaning Myrtle's lavatory crying her eyes out in secret.

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PLEASE READ AND REVIEW : ) I'VE FOUND THAT THE MORE REVIEWS I RECEIVE, THE FASTER I TEND TO WRITE (hint hint )

I KNOW THAT LUNA ISN'T TYPICALLY USED OFTEN AND THAT SHE AND DRACO ARE A PRETTY ODD MATCH, BUT PLEASE GIVE HER A SHOT IN THIS STORY. I THINK THE CHARACTERS, AT LEAST WITH HOW I PLAN TO USE THEM, WILL INTERACT REALLY WELL WITH EACH OTHER.

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	2. Broken Hearted

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 2:** **Broken Hearted**

Most of the Professor's didn't bother teaching anything on the last day of classes and instead allowed the students to have fun with the magic they had learned throughout the year. Professor Snape, however, was another matter entirely. He preferred to end the year with a bang. A bang in the form of a very long pop quiz for all of his classes. Once the sixth year Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's had finished their exam and the bell had rung, Luna decided to ask the professor what he thought about her research; after all, it was the last day of classes and if she didn't ask now she'd have to wait until after summer to find out.

"Professor," she called, just as he was sitting down at his desk. "I was wondering what you thought about my research."

"What?" he asked, tersely, annoyed that his five minutes between classes was being disturbed by Luna Lovegood, of all people.

"A few weeks ago, I brought you my research portfolio. You said that you'd look over the section I had asked you about, if I put all of my information together," she reminded him, nervously tapping the heel of her maryjanes against the stone floor. Just then, the door opened and the seventh year Slytherin and Gryffindor class began to enter. "What did you think? Will it work?"

"Oh, that rubbish you left on my desk," he muttered, recalling just what she was talking about. "I used it as kindling. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach." The excited hopeful look on Luna's face disappeared, only to be replaced with frantic confusion.

"Huh?" she asked, blinking wildly and shaking her head back and forth.

"You heard me, Miss Lovegood. I said I used it as kindling. Which I happen to consider to be a good use for garbage. Perhaps, you ought to spend your time doing something useful instead of wasting it on trying to prove the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks exist. Now, go." Wordlessly, a teary eyed Luna turned to leave; the amused faces of the seventh year Slytherin's and Gryffindor's staring back at her.

"Bye-bye, Loony," Pansy Parkinson snickered, giggling loudly with her friends as the blonde witch closed the door behind her.

"Put your books away. All you will need is a quill and a miracle to complete this pop quiz," Professor Snape said, a satisfied smirk on his face. Groaning loudly, the students obeyed. Just as he was handing out the exams, the door slowly opened and a visibly distraught Luna walked back in and approached Professor Snape.

"Did you really throw it in the fireplace?" she asked, softly, fearing his answer.

"Isn't that what I just said?" he barked, glaring at her cruelly.

"All of it?" she asked, her breath catching in her throat as she tried to control her emotions.

"Yes, all of it," he assured her. "You should be thanking me, Miss Lovegood. I did you a favor getting rid of all of that nonsense."

"Did you even look at it?" she asked, tears falling from her large blue eyes.

"I didn't need to," he replied, annoyed that she was still pestering him.

"It wasn't nonsense. I thought I had found a way to reverse the effects of the Obliviate charm," she whispered, unable to hold back the mix of anger and hurt she was feeling. "That was five years of my hard work that you chucked into the fire. Five years!"

"Watch your tone," he warned.

"You watch your tone!" she shouted. "All I asked you to do was read three pages of my notes. You said you would do it! If you didn't want to read it, all you had to do was say so! Why would you do that... Why?" Professor Snape didn't answer, he simply stared at the furious witch with a nondescript expression on his face. "For six years we've been told that if we needed help with anything, all we had to do was ask for help from our professors. Well, I did and you said you would give it to me, but instead you throw away five years of my life like it was nothing! Where do you get off?"

"Miss Lovegood," Professor Snape warned.

"It would have worked!" she shouted, rushing towards the door. "It would have worked."

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That night at dinner, Luna was nowhere to be found. Not even her house mates had seen her. While Luna was missing in action, word about her shouting at the Potions Master had made it around the school. Everyone was talking about how Loony had finally snapped. While everyone else was busy laughing about Luna's 'breakdown', the Golden trio and a certain blonde Slytherin couldn't help but feel bad for her. Hermione, Harry and Ron felt bad due to their guilt for contributing to her being upset, but Draco wasn't exactly sure why he felt bad. All he knew was that when she was standing in front of the class, heartbroken and angry, he couldn't help but feel for the witch. Professor Snape had done a lot of cruel things in the seven years that Draco had spent with him, but this was quite possibly the cruelest. Every time Draco managed to move his thoughts to a new subject, something would immediately force her back into his mind; and the hours of his patrol duty were no exception. As he was climbing the stairs that led to one of the many towers in the castle, he heard humming. Assuming that it was just some late night rendezvous that he was interrupting, Draco quickly entered the tower.

"So this is where you've been hiding," he said, startling the young witch half to death.

"What do you want?" she snapped, turning back and staring out the window.

"It's after curfew," he reminded her.

"So, we leave tomorrow morning. I won't have time to serve your stupid detention."

"Look, are you all right?" he blurted out, coming to stand right next to her. "What Snape did was pretty awful and if you're still really upset you may want to go talk to one of your friends about it. Don't hold it in. It's not healthy."

"I haven't got any friends," she whispered, turning to face him. Draco could practically feel his heart break, as her eyes filled to overflowing with unshed tears. "I thought I did, but they think the exact same things as everyone else. Friends don't do that. They love you for who you are."

"True," he replied, awkwardly placing his hand on her shoulder in an attempt at comforting her. "But once you leave school, I'm sure things will be different."

"Obviously, they'll be different," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I think I liked the old Luna better" Draco muttered, leaving against the wall so that he was facing her while she gazed out the window. "You're just different, that's all. Personally, I don't think that's a bad thing. The same thing over and over again get's old after a while."

"Draco, save it," she said, turning to leave but his arms stopped her.

"Luna," he said, pleadingly, not really sure what to say to make her feel better. He didn't know what made him do it, but when she looked up at him with her bright blue tear filled eyes, all he could think about was how perfect she seemed at that very moment and how badly he wanted to kiss her. Cupping her chin in his hand, Draco slowly lowered his mouth to hers, placing a chaste kiss against her lips. When she didn't object to his affections, he deepened their kiss and slid his hand into her silky mane. Several moments later, their lips parted and the couple stared back at one another unsure of what to say.

Taking matters into his own hands, Draco gathered her close to him; overwhelmed with the feelings and desires this odd young witch had unleashed in him. Gently, he traced circles along Luna's back, convincing her body to relax against him, while his other hand brushed her hair away from her face before trailing his lips across her jaw and down her pale throat, drawing soft mewling noises and faint gasps from her. Slowly, Draco lowered his hand to her breast causing Luna to stiffen out of surprise. After giving her a few moments to decide whether or not she wanted him to stop, and her doing nothing, Draco continued his gentle caresses. Unsure if she was supposed to be doing something, Luna raised her hand and placed it against his chest, gently stroking his defined muscles through his shirt.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, ceasing his attempts at unbuttoning her blouse, even though he really didn't want to. "We don't have to if you're not ready." With a small smile, Luna nodded, before placing her hands on either side of his face and pulling him down so that their lips met.

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	3. An Unforseen Consequence

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 3: An Unforseen Consequence**

For the most part, Luna wouldn't say her experience with Draco had been unpleasant, rather, she would categorize it as awkward. Draco had gone out of his way to be as gentle and understanding of her inexperience as possible, for which Luna was greatly appreciative. The actual act of having sex with Draco hadn't been bad either. It was afterwards that had caused her to second guess her decision. Instead of lazing about and cuddling together as most couples would have done after sleeping together for the first time, Draco and Luna silently rose from the cold stone floor of the tower, dressed themselves and stood on opposite sides of the room; neither sure of what to say to the other. Finally, after what seemed liked forever, Draco tensely approached her before leaning down and kissing her on the cheek; whispering 'goodbye' as he pulled away.

All summer, Luna went over the events of that night in the tower; quietly pondering whether or not she had made a huge mistake by allowing Draco Malfoy to take her virginity. Though he seemed genuinely concerned about her, she couldn't help but think that it might have been an act and that when she returned to Hogwarts next term, she would be forced to confront rumors of their rendezvous. Bragging was something Draco was well versed in and Luna truly hoped that this wasn't an occurrence that he would feel the need to recount.

As the start of term loomed overhead, Luna began to worry even more about whether or not Draco had told anyone. She had spent so much time and energy on worrying, that she had somehow managed to worry herself sick. For nearly two weeks, she had been stricken with terrible bouts of nausea that made it nearly impossible for her to eat much of anything. On top of her terribly weak stomach, Luna had been troubled by nearly constant headaches, dizzy spells and extreme exhaustion. One afternoon, while Luna was making herself some broth, she simply fainted. Her father discovered her laid out on the kitchen floor, completely unconscious, several minutes later. That was when he decided that she was to stay in bed until she had gotten over her ailment.

Having been confined to her bed, Luna was afforded ample time to peruse her thoughts, most of which were centered around her night with Draco in the tower. As she thought that evening over for what seemed like the thousandth time since it had happened, her nanny, Gwendolyn or Gwennie as Luna had always called her, entered her bedchamber. When Luna's mother had died nearly seven years ago, her father had hired Gwennie to help him take care of her. The nanny was responsible for seeing to it that Luna had everything she needed, as well as providing her with a 'mother figure'. Not in the mood to talk, Luna pretended to be asleep; only opening her eyes long enough to see what her nanny was up to. Seeing the various items in her hands, Luna realized that Gwennie had just come up to put away her various necessities, such as toiletries, shampoo, tampons etc. The sight of that all too familiar pink and blue box made her realize that she couldn't recall the last time she'd had her period. She was sure that she hadn't had her period even once over the summer; her last recollection of the _'blessed'_ monthly event being the beginning of last May, which was three months ago. As soon as Gwennie had left the room, Luna jumped out of bed and retrieved a charms book that her father had given her on her thirteenth birthday, which was filled with various medicinal spells that could prove useful for a teenage witch. After searching the index, Luna turned to the section on pregnancy and scanned the pages for any way to determine if she was with child.

Less than an hour later, Luna had her answer and it wasn't the one she wanted. Deciding that it was best to just tell her father now, seeing as how he would eventually find out, she quietly crept downstairs.

With the latest edition of the Quibbler scheduled to be released in just three days, Luna didn't doubt that her father would have barricaded himself in his study, so that he could make sure that everything was in order before sending the paper to print. Every step towards his office door felt like one step closer to her death bed. Several times, she nearly turned around and ran back up to her room; the only thing stopping her being the fact that running wouldn't make her any less pregnant. Taking a deep breath, Luna raised her shaking hand and softly knocked on the door.

"Yes, Love?" Mr. Lovegood called, beckoning his daughter to enter. He didn't even have to wonder who it was rapping at his door since he and Luna were the only two people who lived in their Manor. "I thought I told you to stay in bed?"

"You did," she whispered, staring at him with a look of absolute terror on her face.

"What's the matter?" he asked, worriedly, standing and quickly approaching his pajama clad daughter. "Do you think we ought to get you to St. Mungo's? You haven't been right for quite some time now."

"And I won't be for quite some time," she replied, her eyes welling up with tears.

"What are you talking about?"

"I made a mistake, Daddy." Tears were now openly flowing down her pallid cheeks. Mr. Lovegood kneeled down next to his daughter, gripping her gently by her too thin upper arms. "A big mistake and I can't fix it."

"Really, Luna," he chided, brushing away her tears. "Nothing's ever as bad as it seems. Now what is it?"

"I'm pregnant... I," Her father raised his hand, signaling her to stop speaking. For several moments he just knelt before her, his eyes tightly shut as he took in several deep calming breaths. Assuming her father was angry with her, which she had fully expected him to be, the tears that he had brushed away returned at full force.

"Shhh," he said, pulling her into his arms and stroking her long hair. "Everything's all right, dear. Just breathe." Doing as he said, Luna began taking deep breaths which successfully calmed her frantic gasps for air and helped ease her crying.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy," she apologized, unable to look him in the eyes. "I didn't mean to... I mean I did, or at least I think I did... um, I don't know what I meant. He was just so nice to me when everyone else was being absolutely wretched. He seemed really concerned about me and... Daddy, I'm sorry. I'm just so sorry... I made a mistake!"

"Nonsense," he admonished, cupping her face in his hands. "A baby is a lot of things, but he or she is never, under any circumstance, a mistake. You made a decision, and every decision you make is one more step down the path your life was meant to take. That baby inside of you is part of your destiny. Perhaps, I would have preferred you to be a bit older before you took that step but you're not. And that means you weren't supposed to be. Everything, my dear, happens for a reason."

"Why are you being so understanding about this?" she asked, unable to believe how well he was taking the news that his sweet and innocent sixteen year old had gotten herself knocked up. "I'm pregnant and all you can do is be supportive and understanding? What's the matter with you? You're supposed to be livid! You're supposed yell at me and tell me how awful what I've done is and that my life is over!"

"Well, I don't think it is, so I'm not about to tell you that I do," he replied, simply. Mr. Lovegood knew that she was angry with herself for ending up in this situation, so he didn't take her lashing out at him to heart. He was sure that, in the end, Luna would appreciate his ability to remain calm. "Besides, this house has been far too empty for far too long. I think a baby would brighten things up a bit."

"Thank you, Daddy," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. "Thank you for not hating me for this."

"There is nothing and I mean nothing you could ever do to make me hate you!" he exclaimed, taken aback and genuinely hurt by her even thinking that there was. Reigning in his emotions, Mr. Lovegood continued. "Do you know who the father is?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed. "I'm not a whore! It only happened once."

"Who?" he asked, tremendously relieved that she wasn't promiscuous.

"That's not important," she muttered, reverting back to avoiding his gaze.

"Who, Luna?"

"...Draco Malfoy." The look on her father's face was priceless. If his jaw could have hit the floor, it would have.

"Draco Malfoy?" he repeated, disbelievingly. "Wow. You certainly didn't settle, did you?"

"I didn't mean for this to happen," she whispered. "I'd never even thought about him in that way."

"I know," he assured her. "But it's just a shock to know that my grandchild is part Malfoy."

"I don't want to tell him. He doesn't need to know."

"I disagree with that. While he may not need to know, he deserves to know; any father does. But this is your decision and I'll except what ever decision you make," Mr. Lovegood explained. "But I hope you'll reconsider."

"I won't," she replied.

"All right," he said, accepting her decision. "All things considered, I don't think you should return to Hogwarts next term. I think personal tutors would be a better choice."

"I agree," she said, immediately. "I didn't want to go back there even before I knew I was... pregnant."

"Than it's settled," Mr. Lovegood chirped, standing and returning to his desk. "You want to help me with the proofs for the next issue?" Luna eagerly pulled a chair up next to her father's, excited to get to help him with the magazine.

"Daddy?" she whispered. Mr. Lovegood turned to face her, his usual smile in place. "I love you."

"I know that and I love you too," he said, leaning over and kissing her forehead.

"I hope I'm half as good a mother as you are a father."

"Well, I believe that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," Mr. Lovegood replied, his eyes filling with tears. "But no matter how much you flatter me, you're not going to get out of going to see the medi-witch tomorrow," he said jokingly. He knew that his daughter hated going to St. Mungo's more than anything and that even if she hadn't tried to finagle her way out of it yet, she would in the morning. "You've got quite a few months worth of visits to St. Mungo's ahead of you."

"Ughhh," she groaned, loudly, dramatically thudding her head against his desk.

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	4. Baby's Day Out

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 4: Baby's Day Out**

For seven long months, Luna remained at her families estate, only leaving the grounds for her appointments at St. Mungo's with the Medi-witch. Being cooped up at home didn't really bother Luna much as she had always been a loner and a home body. Being cooped up and pregnant was a whole other matter. She had never been a vain girl and thoughts of being overweight had never even crossed her mind, as she was often referred to as lanky, but after gaining thirty pounds over the course of seven months, Luna was miserable and more than eager to give birth. Luckily, she wouldn't have to wait long.

Right on schedule, February twentieth to be exact, Landon Cooper Lovegood was born, weighing in at six pounds and seven ounces. The moment Luna laid eyes on her son, she fell in love. From his white blonde hair to his icy blue eyes, she was sure that he was the single most perfect baby to ever be born. The only problem was, little Landon looked entirely too much like his unsuspecting father. She could easily explain away his fair hair and light eyes, as she too had blonde hair and blue eyes. However, she couldn't figure out a way to explain why he, overall, looked just like a Malfoy; and there was no denying that Landon looked like a Malfoy.

Not wanting to face a million questions, Luna and her new bundle of joy spent their first three months together holed up at the manor. Not that she really noticed, as Landon more than kept her busy. But after realizing that she couldn't keep him locked away forever, Luna decided that in celebration of Landon being three months old, she would take him into Diagon Alley for the afternoon. Her father had thought it was an excellent idea and agreed to meet them for supper after work that evening. So after dressing the tiny infant in his equally tiny onesie and strapping him into his stroller, Luna and Landon departed for the train station, as she did not wish to apparate with the infant and instead planned on taking the train to Diagon Alley.

With a hankering for a good book, Luna and Landon's first stop after arriving in Diagon Alley was Flourish and Blotts, where the mother and son tirelessly searched the shelves for something good to read. Once Luna had paid for her numerous purchases and shrunk them to a more manageable size, she and Landon headed towards the nearby baby store. Betty's Baby Boutique was the premiere wizarding baby store in all of Europe. The boutique was known for its exquisite custom linens, creative toys and fashionable baby apparel. Luna was in heaven as soon as she stepped inside. Granted she had already completely furnished Landon's nursery several months before he was born, she couldn't help but fall in love with quite a few of the fantastic outfits and toys that the boutique had to offer. She had even found some of the softest linens for his crib and had them monogrammed with his initials, LCL. Just as she was paying for her purchases, Landon began to wail. Quickly, Luna picked her upset son up, before shrinking her new items along with the stroller, and placing them inside of her purse.

It only took a few moments to quiet his screams, as all Landon wanted was to be close to his mother. Once he was calm, Luna exited Betty's Baby Boutique with her son contentedly dozing against her chest. As she cleared the door way, someone bumped into the young mother nearly causing her to fall to the ground. The only thing that stopped her from toppling over were two strong arms grasping her around the waist.

"Sorry about that," a familiar voice apologized, making sure that she was able to stand before letting go of her waist. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she replied, looking down to make sure that Landon was unharmed. Once assured that he was, Luna looked up to see who it was that she had collided with. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. Of all of the people for her to run into, literally and figuratively, it had to be him... and his parents. As they stared at one another, eyes wide in shock, neither was able to speak. "Well, thanks for not letting us fall. Bye." she blurted out suddenly, trying to make a quick escape.

"Wait!" he called out. Luna turned back to face him. "You look different... how have you been?"

"Good... great, actually," she corrected, honestly meaning it.

"I heard you didn't go back to Hogwarts," he said. "How come?"

"It wasn't the right place for me," she replied, softly.

"How do you two know each other?" Lucius Malfoy asked, staring down at Luna suspiciously. "Were you in the same house? I'm pretty sure I know the family of every student placed in Slytherin and you don't look at all familiar."

"I should," Luna replied, angrily. "You did try to kill me during my fourth year."

"Father," Draco interjected. "This is Luna Lovegood, she was a year behind me. She was in Gryffindor."

"Ravenclaw," she corrected, her jaw clenched tightly due to her agitation. Draco nodded in response having realized his mistake.

"And who is this little guy?" Narcissa Malfoy asked, walking up to Luna and bending down to look at the baby. "Oh," she gushed. "He's so cute. Lucius come look!" Rolling his eyes, Lucius obeyed. As he gazed at the baby boy, the elder Malfoy's eyebrows shot up, nearly disappearing in his hairline. "Can I hold him?" Narcissa asked, very politely. "Please? It's been ages since I've held a baby." Luna gently handed the blonde haired beauty her baby, stepping aside so that Narcissa could give Lucius a better look at the boy. While his parents were distracted, Draco pulled Luna aside so that they could talk.

"So, how are?" he asked, looking her over appraisingly. When he said that she looked different, he hadn't been lying. Motherhood certainly suited the young witch and her once lanky, curve-less frame, though still quite thin, now had the hips and breast that puberty had not afforded her. And Luna's form fitting white knit pencil dress did little to hide those new curves that looked even better now that she had lost most of the baby weight.

"I'm good... you?" she asked, looking back to make sure that Narcissa hadn't run off with her son.

"I've been good. I'm working at my father's company right now. He's trying to get me ready to take it over."

"That's great," she replied, distracted by her inability to understand what Lucius and Narcissa were saying to each other.

"Draco!" Narcissa called, playfully. "When are you going to give me a grand baby?" The irony of the woman's statement was not lost on Luna.

"I really should be going," Luna said to Draco, waving as she went to fetch her son.

"He looks just like Draco did when he was a baby," Narcissa said, as the young mother approached. "Draco, come look at him." Draco quickly caught up with Luna just before she reached his parents. Looking at the tiny bundle in his mother's arms, Draco couldn't help but notice that the boy did have hair and eyes a lot like his own, but then ago, so did Luna.

"What's his name?" Draco asked, tickling the tiny infants chubby cheek.

"Landon Cooper Lovegood," Luna replied, nervously.

"He's small... how old is he?" the young blond wizard asked, taking the boy from Narcissa's arms. This worried Luna greatly. The last thing she needed is for Lucius and Narcissa to see their son holding Landon. Luna was sure that they'd realize just how much Draco and Landon looked alike.

"Three months today," Luna replied, as she watched Draco bounce the baby in the cradle of his arms. "We've really got to get going. My father's expecting us." Luna held out her arms, waiting for Draco to give her the baby.

"Your brother is an absolute doll, Luna," Narcissa interjected, as Draco lay the baby in his mother's waiting arms.

"Landon isn't my brother," Luna replied, realizing that they all thought that he was her little brother. "He's my son."

"Son?" Lucius asked, suspiciously. "So, that's why you didn't return to Hogwarts."

"No, I didn't return to Hogwarts because it wasn't the right place for me. My being pregnant is what ultimately finalized that decision. Now, if you'll excuse me." Luna turned and walked away, leaving three stunned Malfoy's in her wake.

Luna rushed to the restaurant her father was meeting her at, hoping that Draco and his parents would forget that they had ever seen Landon. Running into her son's father was the worst thing that could have possibly happened. That alone was reason enough for her to refuse ever going back out again. As she neared the eatery, Luna couldn't help but notice how many people around her seemed to recognize her. Several people had even went to stop her but then rethought it because they weren't one hundred percent sure that it was her or not. Deciding that she didn't want to deal with the stares any longer, Luna planned on just popping into the restaurant and telling her father that she was too tired and would see him at home.

As she navigated the crowded entry hall of the bistro, her son clutched tightly against her breast, Luna searched for her father. It wasn't until she reached the back of the restaurant that she was finally able to spot him. As she neared the table, Luna noticed that there were quite a few extra people sitting there with him. When Mr. Lovegood saw Luna, he stood with his arms open to greet her and his grandson.

"There you are," he said, smiling as he kissed her on her cheek.

"Dad, I'm really tired. I think I'm just going to go home," she replied, switching Landon to her other shoulder. "And I think Landon's hungry."

"Are you sure?" he asked, sounding a bit let down. "I ran into some old friends on the way in and I've asked them to join us for supper." Looking around at the stunned faces of her father's guests, Luna was less than pleased to find that it was the Weasley family along with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. To Luna, her day officially couldn't get any worse. Not only did she run into Draco but now she had to put up with the Golden Trio.

"I'm sure," Luna snapped, glaring at her father for second guessing her.

"What's the matter?" he asked, knowing that she wouldn't be so agitated unless she had a reason to be. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes... no, I ran into quite possibly the last person I wanted to see today," she replied, gently patting Landon's back. " parent's in tow."

"Really," her father gasped, knowing that she meant her son's father. "Did they say anything?"

"Lot's of stuff, but nothing bad. They all held Landon for a while, told me how cute he was and then I left," Luna informed her father, who merely nodded.

"Hello, Luna," Hermione piped in, smiling weakly at her former friend. "How's your research going?"

"You know damn well what happened to my research," Luna hissed, her deep breaths making her chest heave which woke up the baby. "Shh, quiet now, Love." Hermione looked away, feeling slightly guilty for bringing up what was obviously a touchy subject. She had assumed that after Snape had ruined all of her research, Luna would have started over again but apparently she didn't.

"You look good, Luna," Harry said, staring at her chest while he spoke. Luna had never been very busty but thanks to the added estrogen from her pregnancy and the fact that she was still nursing, her bust had increased greatly, and her dress definitely showed them off. "You've changed."

"You're a pig," Luna snapped, causing Harry took look her in the eyes. The fact that his girlfriend, Ginny, was elbowing him in the ribs certainly helped him to keep his focus upwards of her chest. "Dad, I'm going to head home."

"Alright," he said, leaning over and kissing her on her forehead before doing the same to his grandson. "I'll see you in a bit." As Luna turned to leave, Mrs. Weasley stood to look at Landon.

"Your brother is darling," Mrs. Weasley said, pinching at the boy's cheek. Luna pulled away from the woman.

"He's my son," she said, through gritted teeth. Everyone at the table looked over to her, completely stunned by the revelation.

"Who's the father?" a familiar voice asked, from behind Luna. Turning, she came face to face with Draco Malfoy. "Who's his father?"

"I don't think that's any of your concern," Luna replied, after recovering from the shock of his surprise arrival. "How did you find us here?"

"I followed you after you left. I've been listening the entire time," he replied. "Who's his father?"

"I've got to go..."

"Who's his father!" Draco shouted, everyone in the restaurant turned around to see what all of the racket was about. "Who, damn it?" All of the yelling bothered little Landon so much that he started to scream loudly. Draco rushed over to check on the boy but Luna slapped his hand away. Draco couldn't help but look hurt by her actions; all he was trying to do was help. "You said that he was three months old today, which means that if you carried him to term than you had to have gotten pregnant towards the end of June. We slept together the night before we left Hogwarts and we both know that you were a virgin, so there's no way you were pregnant beforehand. Now, unless you came home and started whoring around, which I highly doubt, than that baby is mine."

"Let's get one thing straight, right now," Luna hissed, stepping forward so that she was nose to nose with Draco. "Landon is _my_ son, not yours and nothing you say or do will ever change that."

"Luna..." he said, softly. "Am I his father? Is that my son?"

"Yes," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears as she clutched Landon against her chest. "Now will you please leave us alone?"

"No, I won't," Draco said, angrily. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

"Because I didn't want you to know. It had nothing to do with you."

"He's my son!" Draco shouted. "How in the hell did your being pregnant with my son, not have anything to do with me? You should have told me. I could have been there."

"I didn't want you there. We don't need you. We're fine with it being just the two of us. So, forget you ever met either of us," she replied, coldly, as she turned to leave the restaurant with her son.

"Wait a minute!" Draco said, gently grabbing her arm and turning her around. "I understand that you don't want anything to do with me but my son deserve's to know his father... I deserve to know my son. We need to decide how we're going to work out custody."

"There's nothing to work out," she said.. "Just leave us alone."

"You can't keep him from me," Draco hissed, just as his father and mother were entering the main eating area. "If you're not willing to work this out with me, than I'll find someone who will and I can assure you that it won't work out in your favor."

"Are you threatening me?"

"You're damn right, I am." Draco warned, his typical Malfoy smirk back in place. "I'll have every member of the Wizengamot on your ass by tomorrow morning and I'll make sure that you never see my son again. Two can play at your game, Luna." Worriedly, she stared back at him, unsure if what he was saying was true. Luna didn't know if he could take full custody of Landon or not, but with him being a Malfoy and having a seemingly endless supply of wealth and power, she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out. Sensing her apprehension, Draco decided to take advantage of her moment of weakness. "Look, I don't want to take him from you, I just want a chance to know my own child, that's all. I've got just as much right to know him as you do. What did I do that was so awful? It's not like I robbed you of your innocence or something. I asked you several times if you were sure you wanted to be with me, and I don't recall hurting you, so why are you punishing me?" He could see that she was getting ready to crack, all he needed to do was push her a little bit further.

"Draco..."

"Please?" As he stood in front of her, Luna couldn't help but notice the cocky grin on Lucius' face. That smirk alone was enough to strengthen her resolve. She simply wouldn't allow her son to be contaminated by the Malfoy family _'values'._

"No." With that said, Luna turned and stalked out of the restaurant leaving a very upset Malfoy family in her wake. While Lucius was upset because he didn't get his way, Narcissa was hurt by the loss of a grandchild and Draco was absolutely crushed by the loss of his son. It was as if she had dangled the prospect of fatherhood in front of him and then snatched it away.

"I'll owl the lawyers," Lucius said, resting his hand on his sons shoulder.

"No..." Draco whispered, staring at the door the mother of his child had just walked out of. "I don't want to take him from her. I just want to be able to see him. I'm going to try again on my own, if that doesn't work then I'll get the lawyers involved.

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	5. Compromise

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 5**: **Compromise**

When Luna returned home from Diagon Alley, she was an absolute mess. Over and over again, she played out the entire scenario with Draco in her mind, second guessing her decision. For the most part, she felt like she had done the right thing by denying Draco his request of being a part of Landon's life, but deep down she couldn't help but feel like she was taking from him something that wasn't hers to take. After feeding Landon and laying him down for bed, Luna headed to the kitchen to fix herself something to eat. As she was settling down at the table for supper, there was a loud knocking at her door. Upon opening it Luna was shocked to see the father of her son standing there.

"Luna, please," he said, his hand stopping her from slamming the door in his face. "I just wanted to talk to you without an audience, without my parents there. Please, just hear me out." Opening the door all the way, Luna allowed Draco to come inside. As she walked back to the dining room, Draco followed.

"Do you want some pasta?" she asked, gesturing towards the dinner she had made.

"Um, sure," he said, skeptically, unsure of whether or not she was capable of making anything edible. Silently, she readied their plates and, deciding that the situation warranted it, Luna poured them both a glass of wine. The first few minutes of their supper was eaten in silence but realizing that this wasn't getting them anywhere, Draco finally spoke. "It's really good."

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Why are you angry with me?" he blurted out, setting his fork down and bringing his wine glass to his lips.

"You threatened to take away my son," she snapped.

"No, you were angry with me before that," Draco argued. "If you weren't then you would have told me you were pregnant, or at least not refuse to let me be a part of his life once I did find out. So, what was it? That night in the tower, did I hurt you and just not know it?"

"No," she replied. "Not anymore than was necessary.

"Was it just bad? Because if it was, than that's not necessarily my fault. I've been told that the first time always sucks for the girl," he said, laughing awkwardly.

"No, it wasn't bad. I really wasn't angry with you until you threatened to take him from me."

"You were yelling long before I said that. If you won't tell me why you're mad at me, than will you at least tell me why it is you're so hell bent on my not being a part of my son's life?" Draco asked, resuming his meal.

"I don't like your family or what they stand for and I don't want my son to have his head filled with that rubbish," Luna replied, downing her wine in one gulp.

"I'm not my father. I know I've made some mistakes and done some pretty rotten things but I'm not a bad person. I'm just as capable of being a good parent as you are. When we had sex neither of us planned on bringing a child into this world, but we did. And I have just as much right to be his father, as you have to be his mother."

"What do you want?" she asked, tersely.

"Why can't we be a family?" he asked. "We could give you and me a try."

"No. "

"You're not even willing to try?"

"No, I'm a seventeen year old mother. I don't have time to give _us _a try," she replied, pouring another glass of wine for herself and another glass for Draco. "

"How about we trade every week. You get him one week, I get him the next," Draco offered, trying to hide his being hurt by her not wanting to give a relationship with him a try. Luna didn't know it, but Draco had thought a lot about her over the last year and to know that she apparently hadn't thought about him, hurt him greatly.

"One problem, well there's more than one problem with that plan, but this one's the biggest. You don't have breasts," she said, laughing. Draco pulled a confused look. "Landon is still nursing. If you don't have breasts than he doesn't eat and if he doesn't eat, he doesn't shut up."

"Oh..."

"Besides Draco, when I asked you what you wanted, I meant, what would it take to get you to leave us alone," Luna clarified, jabbing at her pasta with a fork.

"You're making a big mistake, Luna," Draco warned, genuinely upset by the position she was putting him in. "I don't want to do it, but you're not giving me any other choice. You'll be hearing from my lawyers first thing in the morning." Standing, Draco stormed out of the dining area, leaving a very worried Luna behind.

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Luna didn't sleep a wink that night. How could she, when she had the prospect of dealing with the Malfoy family lawyers, first thing in the morning, looming overhead. And we're not talking about one or two lawyers. Lucius Malfoy had an entire team of twelve of the magical world's most powerful and influential attorneys working for him, round the clock. Luna wouldn't deny that she was petrified by the thought of losing custody of Landon but she simply couldn't allow Lucius Malfoy to corrupt her baby's malleable mind. She would not raise a bigot.

Just as Draco had promised, the moment day had broken, his lawyers, all twelve of them, arrived at her doorstep and served her with papers ordering her to be at the Ministry at noon. Accepting the summons, Luna assured them that she would be there before leaving so that she could attend to Landon. It seemed that Landon must have sensed what was going on, as he was unusually cranky that morning. No matter how many times she fed, burped or bounced him, he simply wouldn't quite down. The entire way to the Ministry he just cried and cried. Luna couldn't remember a time when the poor thing had ever cried that much. It wasn't until they arrived in the crowded meeting room that Landon finally stopped his fussing.

"Miss Lovegood," Lucius greeted her, snidely. "Nice of you to join us this afternoon." Luna rolled her eyes, ignoring the wizards sarcastic remarks. Glaring at Draco, she settled down in her seat whilst cradling her infant son in her arms.

"As I'm sure you're aware, we are here today to discuss the custodial issue between Mr. Draco Malfoy and Miss Luna Lovegood, in regards to their infant son, Landon Cooper Lovegood. Proper surname to be discussed at a later date."

"What do you mean proper surname?" Luna interjected.

"Miss Lovegood, as your council I would advise that you let me do the talking," her attorney drawled, as he strutted into the meeting hall, fashionably late. The moment Luna told her father about Draco's threat, he owled the Quibblers most powerful lawyer and hired him to ensure that his daughter didn't lose custody of her son. Mr. Macmillan was more than happy to oblige; he and Lucius' attorney's had run into one another on quite a few occasions and had a bit of a rivalry between them. "The child's surname remains the same," Mr. Macmillian said, speaking directly to the opposing council.

"That remains to be seen," Lucius' head attorney, Mr. Houser said, glaring at his cocky opposition. "Miss Lovegood, I hope you're aware that this is merely a mediation. This meeting is your last chance to come to amicable terms of custody with my client. If you cannot, than we shall take this matter before the Wizengamot and pursue sole custody of the child."

"He has a name," Luna snapped, kissing her son's forehead softly.

"I don't care, he's just another a kid to me," Mr. Houser replied, waving off her comment.

"His name is Landon and you'll refer to him as such or you'll find another job," Draco spat, glaring at his attorney. "Luna, I don't want to take him from you. Let's try to find a way to make us both happy."

"I won't be happy until you leave me and my son alone," Luna scoffed.

"You didn't want him to leave you alone that night in the tower, now did you?" Lucius said, laughing.

"Get out," Draco said, looking over at his father. "You're not helping matters. Don't you see that you're a big part of why she refuses to allow me to see my son? Just go."

"I most certainly..." Lucius began, only to be interrupted by his son.

"Go... please?"

"Fine, but you had better bring that child home with you. That's the future of my line she's holding and I'll not have him wasting his life with her when he could make something of himself under my guidance." Turning sharply, Lucius strode out of the room, letting the door slam behind him.

"Miss Lovegood," Mr. Houser began. "My client would like joint custody of Landon. What is your position on that?"

"I.." Luna began, her attorney instantly silencing her.

"No... Mr. Malfoy will not be a part of this child's life," Macmillian replied, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Miss Lovegood, while you are by no means from a poor family, your son's father is considerably more wealthy and powerful. The likeliness of being granted full custody of your son is quite slim. Unless you could prove that Mr. Malfoy is a threat to the child's welfare than you have no grounds to keep him from his son. The fact that you're trying to would most certainly hurt your case. What sort of mother wants to put her child through that?"

"Don't do that..." Draco whispered, elbowing his council in the ribs. "She's not a bad mother."

"I'm not trying to keep Landon from his father as much as I'm trying to keep him from Lucius Malfoy. He's no good, and I'll not have him corrupting my son," Luna said, her eyes tearing up as she realized that she really had no chance of keeping Landon away from the Malfoy family.

"Be that as it may, Miss Lovegood, Draco Malfoy is the child's father and you haven't any right to keep them apart," Mr. Houser replied.

"Can we have a minute alone?" Draco asked, suddenly. "Is that alright with you, Luna?"

"Yes." Slowly, both their council's stood and left the meeting hall so that Draco and Luna could speak in private. "What do you want?"

"I don't want this, that's for sure," he said as he stood and approached her. "I don't want to put Landon through this and I certainly don't want to put you through this. You heard them, there's no way you'll be able to keep me from seeing him. So, why not work this out here instead of taking it to the Wizengamot. If we go there than it'll be under their terms, not ours. At least this way, you get what you want and I get what I want, or we at least come to a happy medium."

"Why do you want to be around so bad?" she asked, gently rocking Landon so that he would fall back asleep. The lawyer's booming voices had woken him and he had started to fuss again.

"He's my son... he's a part of me, why wouldn't I want to be a part of his life?" Luna shrugged, unable to come up with a decent response. "Your Mum died when you were nine, so you know what its like to be without one of your parents. Why would you want to put Landon through that? He deserves to know who his father is. Give me a chance, Luna. I'm begging you here."

"What are your terms?"

"Terms?" he laughed. "Can't I just come by and see him?"

"No. We'll need some sort of rules; a schedule even."

"Well, if he's nursing it's not like I can take him on the weekends or anything. What do you think would work?" he asked.

"What if you came over every other day for a few hours. That way he won't miss any meals or anything," Luna suggested, as Landon started to cry.

"Can I try?" Draco asked, holding out his arms. Luna looked at him skeptically. "Isn't it better that I screw up when you're here, instead of when you're not around? At least if you're here you can take over if I screw up."

"Fine," she mumbled, placing the tiny infant into his father's waiting arms. Nervously, Draco gently rocked the boy back and forth before letting him lay against his chest so that he could pat his back. It only took Draco a few moments to get the hang of it and successfully quiet his son. "Good job," Luna whispered, smoothing her hand over Landon's blonde hair.

"I don't think every other day is going to be often enough for him and I to bond," Draco said, softly, careful not to bother the lightly dozing baby. "If you get to see him everyday, than I should too."

"And how do you suggest we manage that without completely disrupting our very separate lives?" Luna asked, sarcastically. For nearly ten minutes, neither spoke; Draco busied himself playing with the tiny baby who simply refused to go back to sleep while Luna watched how careful and attentive Draco was being. Finally, Draco came up with an idea, one that he thought would solve their problems. "We could live together."

"What?" she asked, completely blind sighted by his suggestion.

"I just bought a manor a few miles from here. You and Landon could move in there and than we'd be able to go about our lives and still be there for him whenever he needs us. You wouldn't miss anything and than neither would I," he explained, excitedly, liking his idea even more after actually thinking it through. "What do you think?"

"Draco, that's ridiculous!" Luna said, mulling his suggestion over as she stared at him, dumbfounded. "But it could work."

"Yeah, it could and it probably would," he replied, making kissing noises against Landon's head. "Come on, Luna, you know you want to."

"Okay, we'll try it out. But I want to make it very clear that there will be nothing going on between you and I. The only reason I'm agreeing on this, is for Landon," Luna said, laughing as she watched her son staring up at his father, completely fascinated by the strange noises and faces he was making.

"No problem," Draco said, as he continued to play with the baby. "If at any point you don't think it's working out, than we can give mediation with those buffoons out there another shot."

"Alright," she agreed, standing and holding out her hands, signaling that she wanted him to give her the baby. "We need to get going."

"You want to go to lunch?" Draco asked, as he stood, not yet ready to part with his son. "You know, to celebrate. You don't have plans do you?"

"No, but I usually don't like to keep Landon out too long."

"It won't take long. We'll just get something to eat and then I'll take you two home," Draco offered, walking towards the door so that he could open it for her. Realizing that he wasn't going to let up on his lunch suggestion and that he had no intention of handing over the baby, Luna agreed. As they left the Ministry, Luna couldn't help but feel like maybe she was being a little too optimistic about their prospective living arrangement. She couldn't deny that she was most certainly attracted to Draco, as he had definitely become even more attractive since their night together in the tower. Luna knew that having to live so closely with him would definitely be a challenge.

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DISCLAIMER: The American Academy of Pediatrics considers maternal alcohol use to be compatible with breast feeding. It takes a maternal blood alcohol level of 300 mg/dl to even cause mild sleepiness in a breast feeding infant. Maternal drinking as a rare occurrence is not considered dangerous. Daily drinking or severe binge drinking on the other hand may pose some risk of delayed motor development in the child. However, it's not totally clear if that risk is directly from the alcohol or from other factors in the lives of babies with mothers who drink a lot. I believe we can all agree that Luna is not a binge drinker. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that alcohol is not stored in the milk of a mother's breasts. The bottom line is that the occasional beer, glass of wine, or mixed drink is not harmful to a nursing baby. It is recommended to allow two hours for every alcoholic beverage consumed, to dissipate, before nursing. That means Luna would be expected to wait four hours before feeding the baby again. Therefore, Luna's two glasses of wine that evening, after having already nursed Landon for the last time until breakfast the next morning, are of no consequence.

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	6. A Not So Quick Bite To Eat

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 6: A Not So Quick Bite to Eat**

Surprisingly, Luna's afternoon out with Draco had proved to be quite enjoyable. So much so, that their 'quick bite to eat' had turned into a day long excursion that ended with the new parents and their son enjoying a delicious supper at the very same bistro where she and Draco had fought a day earlier. It was well after eight o'clock when they finally finished their dinner, and after noticing that Landon was looking quite tired, Luna announced that it was time for them to head home.

"You two could come stay at my house, if you want," Draco offered, as he pushed the stroller that his infant son slept in. Draco wasn't ready to part with the boy just yet and planned on doing everything he could, so he didn't have to. "It would give you a chance to see your new home before you actually move in."

"I don't think that would be a very good idea," Luna said, declining his generous offer. "My Dad's probably worried out of his mind with it being as late as it is and our not being home yet. Besides, I've got to break the news to him. I don't think he'll be too happy about Landon and my leaving so soon. He'll be terribly lonely in that big house all by himself." Ever since Luna's Mum had died, her father hadn't even attempted to date, so chances were, if she and Landon left, the only person he'd have to talk to was Gwennie and that was only for the few hours she was there every week. More and more, Luna started to feel bad about making so hasty a decision without even consulting her father. He had done so much for her and had been so understanding and supportive through out her entire pregnancy and she couldn't help but feel like she was turning her back on him.

"Maybe he'll start dating and find someone new," Draco said, uncharacteristically optimistic about the prospective outcome. The last thing the young father wanted was for Luna to change her mind and decide to stay at home with her father instead of moving in with him. If that happened, they were right back at square one. "It's almost been nine years since your Mum passed, he should be ready to move on."

"I don't think you understand just how much my Dad loved my Mum. He was completely smitten with her the moment he saw her. When she died, I didn't think he'd ever stop crying. He took it even worse than I did, and I saw it happen.

"You did?" Draco asked, not having known that Luna had been with her mother when the accident occurred. Luna nodded, a sad look taking over her usual cheerful disposition.

"It was really terrible. But I'm pretty sure that she passed away instantly, so at least she didn't suffer," Luna replied, offering him a weak smile. "You don't have to see us home, Draco."

"I want to," he replied, peaking down into the stroller to see his son, a small grin pulling at the corners of his lips as he gazed at the boy. "Do you think you'll be ready to move in tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Luna asked, her mouth wide in shock. "That's a bit soon, don't you think?"

"No, I don't think it's too soon," Draco replied. "My house is too quiet with it just being me there. I'm eager to get you guys settled in so I don't have to put up with the eerie silence anymore."

"How about next weekend?" Luna asked, having to raise her voice as they entered the train station that, even at so late an hour, was still packed full of people and quite loud. "I think that's the soonest we'll be able to move."

"Well, if that's the soonest than it'll have to do," he replied, gesturing for her to take the stroller while he went to the ticket counter. "I'll be back in a sec."

Though it took nearly ten minutes to get their tickets, eventually Draco, Luna and Landon were all settled into their private compartment on the train, the atmosphere having improved ten fold now that they were able to speak to one another without having to shout over all of the noise. Even though the train station had been quite rowdy, little Landon's eyes didn't open once. Instead, the tiny infant remained asleep, gently sucking on his pacifier. Granted the ride to Luna's house was only thirty minutes long, it seemed like it took forever. Draco and Luna had spent the entire day talking about just about everything they could think of in hopes of steering the topic away from the issue at hand. Neither really wanted to address what was really bothering them but after spending so much time together, they had exhausted all other topics. So much so, that the first twenty minutes of the ride were spent in complete silence. Luna had even resorted to feigning sleep.

"Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?" Draco asked, knowing that she wasn't really asleep. "And I want a real answer; I want the truth."

"Why does it matter?" she asked, giving up on avoiding the issue. Sitting up and opening her eyes, Luna prepared herself for what was sure to be an interesting conversation. "I've given in and agreed to let you be in Landon's life, so why bother asking questions?"

"Because I missed the birth of my child and I'd like... I think I deserve to know why," he replied, choosing his words very carefully. He couldn't, for the life of him, understand why she was so hell bent on avoiding having to explain her actions. It wasn't like she had done something that didn't affect him, so why she thought she'd get off scot-free, he didn't know. For several moments, Luna just stared at him, silently thinking how best to answer his question.

"Well, it's not like you were the nicest person in the world... least of all, to me," she finally replied, a defeated look on her face. "Every word you ever said to me was either just plain cruel or some clever taunt aimed to make me cry. What was I supposed to do?"

"We got on quite well that night, to which Landon's existence is evidence of," Draco said, gesturing towards the infant who lay atop his chest, quietly sleeping.

"Yes, for that one night, you were really sweet and kind. But that was one night, Draco. One night out of six years doesn't really count for much. I was embarrassed and scared. Would you really expect me to give you even more ammunition, even more of a reason, not to mention endless opportunities to drag me through the mud? People may have called me a lot of names, but stupid wasn't one of them."

"What were you so afraid of?" he asked, not exactly thrilled by what she was telling him. He knew he had been a cruel jerk to her, there was no denying that, but to actually hear how he made her feel, that killed him.

"I was sixteen and pregnant!" she exclaimed, unable to believe he would ask so stupid a question. "Pregnant by someone who spent six years tormenting me and who's Father tried to kill me not even two years prior. Why do you think I was scared?"

"Okay," he replied, softly. "I see what you're saying, but when I came to you and asked you if I was Landon's father you didn't have to lie to me. I think it was pretty obvious that I wasn't going to make fun of you. We'd even managed to have a civil conversation not even twenty minutes before that. So why would you lie?"

"Because I didn't want you anywhere near my son. I didn't want to have to spend my life trying to un-teach everything I was sure you'd expect him to learn," she replied, honestly, knowing that her words would most likely hurt the young wizard. "I didn't want my son to end up like you. You were horrible to everyone, even your friends, you were sure that you were better than any and everyone, and you were so hateful towards everything. What sort of mother would I be if I didn't protect him from that?"

"I'm not the same person I was before," he whispered.

"How was I supposed to know that?" she snapped, getting angrier by the second. Luna couldn't believe that he was honestly making her sit there and defend her actions, to defend her method of protecting her son. "It's not like I heard from you after we left Hogwarts or anything, so how would I know that you underwent some sort of metamorphosis?"

"Oh..." Draco whispered. "I get it, you're pissed because I didn't write or come see you after we shagged. That's what this is about, isn't it?"

"It most certainly is not," she scoffed. Truthfully, Luna knew that if he had made some attempt at contacting her over the summer she probably would have confided in him and, at least, given him a chance to prove that he was willing to be the sort of father that she wanted Landon to have. But he didn't need to know that. "Only you could turn around and make this about you."

"Admit it, Luna," Draco said, that damn smirk making its first appearance of the evening. "You were hurt because I swooped in, took your virginity and didn't even send a thank you note." The instant Draco said those words he regretted them. He regretted them even more when Luna's eyes started to tear up. Somehow knowing that he had been correct in his assumption, didn't make Draco feel any better. Instead, he felt like an ass. After they had slept together, Draco had to admit that things had been really awkward. He didn't know what to say or how to act towards her because he didn't know what she was thinking, and with her mood the way it was that evening, he didn't have a clue how to figure out what was going on in her head either. They only thing he could think about was getting out of there as fast as possible; which he did.

"So what," she said, her voice cracking due to her fighting the urge to cry. "It doesn't mean anything. It just would have been nice if you'd had the decency to see if I was alright. But you got what you wanted, so in typical Malfoy fashion, you couldn't spare a thought for anyone else."

"Don't act like that," Draco said softly, not wanting to argue with her. Besides, she couldn't be any further off base. "Don't think I didn't think about you afterwards, Luna, because I did. I just wasn't sure how to handle the situation..."

"So, you decided to just not handle the situation," she accused.

"More or less, yes," he agreed. "I didn't know why you slept with me or why you were willing to let me be your first. I figured you were just upset and you needed an outlet and since I was standing there, you decided that I would fit the bill. I honestly didn't think you wanted to hear from me."

"We both know you're not that daft, Draco."

"I'm not being daft, I'm being honest," he said, laughing. "Believe it or not this is how guys really think. It doesn't make much sense but hey, what can you do." Luna couldn't help but laugh. "I really did think about you a lot. I was really excited when I bumped into you yesterday."

"We should start getting Landon ready to get off of the train," Luna said, changing the subject to something a bit more neutral. She knew where Draco was headed, and she really wasn't ready to deal with that just yet. "Can you put his hat on him? It's a bit breezy." Draco nodded and busied himself with dressing the baby.

It only took the three of them ten minutes to get to Luna's house from the train station. Just as Draco had feared, their conversation once again drifted to unimportant topics, ranging from Quidditch teams to what it was he was doing at his father's company. He had to admit it; Luna was really good at manipulating a situation to fit her needs. If she didn't want to address something, she didn't and it would be a while before you noticed that she was avoiding it. In no time, the young parents were standing on the front steps of Lovegood Manor, awkwardly saying goodnight.

"So, I'll owl you tomorrow and we can arrange a time for me and Landon to get together," Draco said, his hands shoved in his pockets because he didn't quite know what else to do with them.

"All right," Luna replied, lifting Landon out of his stroller. "Goodnight."

"'Night..." Draco said, as she was opening the door to go inside. "At some point, we're going to have to address what's going on between us."

"Draco, I thought I made it pretty clear that there won't be anything between you and me. The only reason we're even speaking is because of Landon," Luna replied, sounding tired.

"I don't believe that and neither do you," Draco assured her, before apparating to his own home. With an annoyed huff, Luna went inside her house; the prospect of revealing her new living arrangements to her father causing her to wish she weren't home just yet.

Quietly, Luna tiptoed up the staircase and headed towards Landon's nursery hoping to avoid her father until the morning. Unfortunately, he was inside of Landon's room when she got there. It was well after nine o'clock and her poor father had begun to think that maybe she hadn't been able to stop the Malfoy's from taking the baby. At the sight of his daughter and grandson returning home safely, Mr. Lovegood was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Without a word, Luna lay her son down and gestured for her father to follow her before turning off the nursery room light.

Just as she had expected, her father hadn't taken the news of her and Landon leaving all that well. He had cried a bit, which made Luna cry, and apparently wanting to join in on the festivities, Landon decided to wake up and cry too. After a few minutes of feeling sorry for himself, Mr. Lovegood was able to admit that Draco's idea of living together made sense. He had always hoped that Luna would change her mind about allowing the baby's father to be involved in his upbringing, so when he found out that she had, and had done so without court order, he was quite pleased. Unfortunately, that meant that he would have to get used to spending a great deal of his time without the only two remaining members of his family, but if that meant that his grandson was able to have his father, than he was fine with that. The more he thought about it, the more he actually started to liked the idea. Perhaps Luna was right, maybe he would start dating.

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	7. Wake Up Call

**Happenstance **

**Chapter 7: Wake Up Call**

Luna and her father had spent a great deal of time the evening before, discussing her plan's to move in with her son's father. Though Mr. Lovegood thought that it was a brilliant idea, he wasn't sure how his daughter would handle being in such close quarters with Draco. Luna had made it abundantly clear that she did not want to have a relationship with Draco, but her father didn't really think there was a way to avoid it. He was quite sure that Draco could be rather charming when he wanted to be and if he wanted Luna, he'd find a way to have her.

When her father voiced his concern over Draco's tentative attempts at forging a romantic relationship between them, Luna had assured him that he was over thinking things. Deep down, Luna knew her father was right, as the same thoughts had been running through her own mind ever since she'd run into Draco the previous day. While she didn't want to admit that there was a chance that Draco would consider pursuing her even after she had told him that there was no chance, Luna wasn't thoughtless enough to even think about letting her guard down.

The following morning, as Luna's father sat in the breakfast room enjoying his first cup of coffee, he was startled to hear someone knocking at the front door. It was only six o'clock, neither he or Luna had ever had guests this early. Sitting down that mornings issue of the Prophet, Mr. Lovegood left the breakfast room and went to answer the door. Upon opening it, he was shocked at who he saw.

"Hello, Mr. Lovegood," Draco said, cheerfully, as he entered the house, not waiting to be invited inside. "I was hoping to see Landon this morning. Is Luna up yet?"

"No, it's just now six o'clock," Mr. Lovegood said, removing his glasses and cleaning them with the hem of his untucked oxford before placing them back on. "She doesn't usually come downstairs until about seven-thirty, after she's showered and ready to wake Lanny."

"Lanny?" Draco said, testing the nickname out for himself. "I like that... mind if I use it?"

"Not at all," Mr. Lovegood said, smiling at the casually dressed wizard. Thanks to Draco's friendly demeanor, he couldn't help but become a great deal more comfortable around the boy than he had previously been. Regardless of their involvement with the Dark Lord, the Malfoy family was as close to royalty as it came in their world, so Mr. Lovegood had been quietly unsettled to have Draco standing in his foyer. "Aren't you a little underdressed for work?"

"Oh, I took two weeks off so that I could get the manor ready for Luna and my son. My son... I just like saying that," Draco said, a huge grin on his face.

"That's wonderful, Draco," Mr. Lovegood said, genuinely glad to see the young father so excited to have a child of his own. "I'm relieved to hear it."

"You're probably pretty pissed that I got your daughter pregnant, aren't you?" Draco asked, nervously tucking his hands into the pockets of his khaki trousers. "Mr. Lovegood, I really didn't plan for any of this to happen but I can't say that I'm too upset that it did."

"You can call me Luke," Mr. Lovegood offered. "and I'm not at all upset. My daughter makes her own decisions, and like I told her when she came to me and told me that she was pregnant; I would have preferred that she had waited until she was older to become a mother, but she didn't. It just goes to show that things don't always go as planned and when they go astray, you've just got to adapt. Personally, I haven't been this happy in quite some time."

"That's a relief," Draco said, laughing awkwardly. "I half expected you to castrate me or something."

"Of course not," Luke said, laughing at the young wizards statement. "So, you've decided to take two weeks off?" Luke asked, as he ushered Draco towards the breakfast room. Mr. Lovegood planned on making good use of his time alone with the father of his grandson, knowing that when Luna awoke he would have limited opportunities to get to know the man.

"Yes. I bought the manor about a month ago but I never put anything in it except for my bed. I didn't think Luna would go for that." Draco laughed, as he settled into one of the comfortable chairs at the table while Mr. Lovegood poured him a cup of tea and prepared him some toast. "The decorator's are working as we speak, to make sure that everything is in order before they arrive this weekend."

"I'm sure Luna will appreciate it," her father said, seating himself across from the boy. "What exactly are your plans for my Luna?"

"What do you mean?"

"My daughter is the most important person in my life. She's all I've got left, and I'd like to know exactly what your intentions are. She's made it quite clear that she does not want a romantic relationship with you."

"Oh, that's not even an issue. My old girlfriend, Pansy, said I wasn't at all romantic. So, I don't think Luna will have anything to worry about." Draco couldn't help but laugh at his clever remark.

"So you mean to say that you've no intention of trying to woo my daughter?"

"No, I'm saying that I probably won't be romantic when I try to woo your daughter."

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know," Mr. Lovegood replied, a satisfied grin on his face. Draco was shocked to hear that her father was willing to help him convince Luna that they'd be good together. It wasn't like he planned on marrying her right away, or anything, but since she'd already had his child he didn't see the point in avoiding it forever.

"Will do," Draco assured him. "Do you think it's okay to wake Landon up now?"

"Not if you want to live," Mr. Lovegood said, chuckling as he spread jam on his toast. "Luna has finally gotten Landon used to when he's supposed to sleep and when he's supposed to be awake. If she finds out you woke him before you were supposed to, she'd probably castrate you herself."

"Good to know," Draco whispered, deciding to wait for Luna to wake Landon, instead of putting his boy bits on the line. "Do you think she'll start working on her research for a cure for Obliviate, again?"

"I don't know. I hope so," the sandy haired wizard said, a sad expression taking over his usually cheerful face. "I think she was really close to something great, this last time. Luna was really counting on Professor Snape's input. She was crushed when he chucked her research into the fire like it was nothing. I've never seen her so overwrought. She hasn't been the same ever since... and I don't think she ever will be."

"Why won't she just start over again?" Draco asked, puzzled by how hard she had taken it. Everyone knew that Professor Snape was an ass. Hell, he was a close family friend and even Draco found him to be quite cruel at times.

"Luna has always been very optimistic about people," Mr. Lovegood explained. "Her mother always told her to assume that everyone is a good decent person, until they prove otherwise. When Severus Snape did what he did, he showed her his worst. He pissed on her hopes and dreams, not to mention five years worth of tireless research. You don't really recover from something like that, and unfortunately, its completely devastated her opinion of everyone else. If I could get my hands on him..."

"I never really thought about it like that," Draco mumbled, feeling terrible for Luna all over again. "Well, I hope she does decided to give it another go."

"Me too," her father said, smiling at the young wizard. "I can see why she found comfort in you that, night. You may not be romantic but you're a good listener."

"Thanks," Draco said, feeling a bit proud at that proclamation. Glancing down at his watch, Draco saw that it was nearing seven o'clock. He couldn't help but get excited at the thought of Landon's getting up soon. He hadn't been able to sleep a wink last night because thoughts of the little tyke kept his mind reeling. "It's almost seven."

"Yes, it is... Luna get's up around this time, not Landon. She wakes him at about eight or eight-thirty."

"Ughhh," Draco grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest in a very childish manner.

"Is my company that unbearable?" Mr. Lovegood said, laughing.

"No, but I've been waiting for so long."

"It's only been a few hours since you told him goodnight," Mr. Lovegood commented. "But I must admit, I am glad that you are seemingly obsessed with him. It's comforting to know that you adore him as much as his mother and I do."

"I know I've only just met him, but I can't help it," Draco admitted. "I always thought that my mother was nutters when she'd go on and on about the bond between a parent and their child, but now I think I might have to tell her she was right... and that's the last thing you want to tell that woman. You'll never hear the end of it."

"I tell you what," the older wizard said, standing. "I'll go wake Landon and when his mother throws a fit, I'll take the fall... this time. That way, you get some alone time with your boy and you don't have to start things off with Luna on a bad note."

"You're the best," Draco enthused, standing and following behind his son's grandfather. As the two quietly crept up the staircase, making sure not to alert Luna to their approaching the nursery, Draco couldn't help but understand why Luna had been such a free spirit for all those years. Her father encouraged it. There's no way in hell his own father would have snuck upstairs with him to do something he knew that they weren't supposed to do, especially if it meant that they'd have to listen to his mother's displeasure.

Draco had to admit, if he'd been raised in so free and nurturing an environment, he'd probably have been as spazzy as she'd been. The more he thought about it, the more he hoped that his son felt comfortable enough with himself to act as freely as his mother used to. Draco was taken aback by the kindness that Luna's father was showing him and he didn't quite know how to let the man know it. All he knew was that he hoped that he could be half as decent to his own son, as Mr. Lovegood was being to him. Luna's father had only known Draco for a few minutes but he'd already gone out on a limb for the boy more than his own father ever had, and it wasn't for any reason other than to make him happy.

"Mr. Lovegood?" Draco said, just as they reached the door that led to Landon's nursery.

"Luke," he corrected.

"Luke... thank you," Draco said, causing Luna's father to turn and face him, slightly caught off guard by his words. "You're being awfully nice to someone who you should probably be livid with. Most fathers would have slammed the door in my face when I showed up, not offer me breakfast and volunteer to take the brunt of his daughters anger just because I was too impatient to wait until she woke the baby up."

"It's nothing, Draco." Mr. Lovegood assured him. "I remember how excited I was when Luna was born. Her mother nearly left me because I wouldn't let Luna sleep. If I wasn't fussing over my girl, I wasn't satisfied. Needless to say, I know what you're feeling."

"Thanks again," Draco said, still unable to communicate just how grateful he really was.

"When we go inside, be really quite, otherwise you'll scare him and he'll start screaming something terrible, and that will definitely wake his mother. I'll get him and then we can take him down to the playroom so the two of you can have some time together," Mr. Lovegood explained, as he gently turned the handle on the door.

As they approached the round crib that was situated in the center of the room, Draco and Luke were greeted by the baby's icy blue eyes staring up at them. Apparently, Landon had been awake for quite some time as he was wide eyed and alert. At the sight of his guests, little Landon's baby blue clothed body began wiggling about happily, his hands and feet moving back and forth as he showed them a toothless smile. Draco's heart nearly melted at the sight of the boys grin.

"He's got the Malfoy smirk down pat," Draco whispered, causing Mr. Lovegood to stifle the laugh that threatened to come out. After signaling for Draco to be quiet, Mr. Lovegood reached down and picked up the squirming bundle and cradled him in his arms. Quickly, but quietly, the trio rushed out of the nursery and headed downstairs towards Landon's nursery. Once inside the safety of the playroom, Mr. Lovegood handed Landon over to his father. For nearly twenty minutes, he watched as the two interacted but when he saw that it was nearly seven twenty, Mr. Lovegood decided to go to the kitchen and wait for Luna to come downstairs. He had hoped to let her know that he had woken Landon before she discovered it for herself.

"Good morning, Daddy," Luna said, as she entered the kitchen, still clad in her bathrobe since she had just gotten out of the shower. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a rock," her father said, bending down and pressing a kiss against her forehead. "And you?"

"Fitfully," she grumbled, shaking her head solemnly, her wet hair swinging back and forth. "I had this terrible dream that I was marrying Draco and when we said I do, Landon turned into a monkey..."

"So, you mean to say that you had a nightmare, not a dream," her father corrected.

"No, it would have been a nightmare if my dress hadn't been gorgeous, but it was. And Landon made such a cute monkey," Luna said, laughing. Granted she was making jokes about it now, her dream had made getting any real rest, nearly impossible.

"Speaking of Draco and Landon," Mr. Lovegood said, smiling down at his beautiful, though tired looking, daughter. "Guess who showed up at six o'clock this morning?"

"He didn't?" she groaned.

"Yes, he did. I must say, love, he is a very nice boy. You could have done a great deal worse for yourself."

"Did he say when he was coming back. I'll need to make sure that Landon's up and has been fed."

"Technically, he hasn't left... yet."

"What do you mean he hasn't left!" Luna exclaimed, nearly dropping her porcelain tea cup. "He's still here?"

"He's in the playroom."

"Why on earth is he in the... you didn't," Luna groaned, her hands firmly on her hips as she glared at her father, reproachfully.

"I might have," he admitted.

"How long has he been up?"

"Just a few minutes," Mr. Lovegood replied, playfully pinching her nose. Just as he had hoped, his daughter's glare melted away only to be replaced by a reluctant smile. He was sure that no matter how old she was, or how mad she got, pinching her nose would always manage to ease her temper. That was a trick he'd developed while he and Luna's mother were dating; one thing was for sure, Luna certainly inherited her mother's temper. It was difficult to make her angry but once you did, you'd certainly regret it; unless of course you knew how to calm her.

Mentally making a note to teach that move to Draco, Mr. Lovegood took her by the hand and led her towards Landon's playroom. "Try not to be too hard on him. He's just so excited about Landon. It's a huge comfort for me to know that he really does care for the baby. You can see it in his eyes; he's in love."

"I don't doubt that, but you know how hard it was to get Landon to sleep at halfway decent times, and it'll only take a few screw ups to get him off of his schedule," Luna whined.

"I know, Love," her father cooed. "But he looked so pitiful. The seconds seemed like minutes, the minutes seemed like hours and so on and so on..."

"Oh, fine," Luna huffed, stomping towards the playroom doors. Barging in, Luna gave Draco the meanest glare she could muster. "I thought you were going to owl and see what time was okay for you to come by?"

"I was going to but then I changed my mind," he said, laughing at her as he rocked Landon playfully.

"You changed you mind..." she grumbled, stalking towards him and holding out her hands. "I need to feed him."

"I'll feed him," Draco offered, pulling Landon closer against his chest and further away from his mother.

"How?"

"Right... forgot about that," he mumbled, handing the baby over. Settling into the rocker next to the window, Luna kissed Landon on the forehead before loosening her robe. Upon realizing exactly what was happening, Draco muttered something about needing to make sure that he cleaned up his teacup from breakfast that morning, and dashed out of the room as quickly as possible. It seemed, to Luna at least, that the Slytherins Ladies Man, himself, was just a bit unsettled when it came to viewing a woman's breast as something other than a sexual stimulant; even if it was his son's only source of sustenance.

Once Landon had been fed and changed, Mr. Lovegood suggested that Luna show Draco how to properly bathe the baby, since he was sure that the young father had never been required to give a baby a bath. At first, she thought that her father's suggestion was a good idea but after just a few minutes in the lavatory with him, Luna was ready to ring his neck. On three occasions he had bumped her out of the way and had taken over the task of bathing Landon. She was half tempted to bite him just to get Draco to knock it off. Thanks to his constant interruptions, what would normally take fifteen minutes somehow managed to take twice as long.

After Landon was dried and dressed, the very agitated mother and oblivious father, returned to the nursery where Luna began explaining some of the uses of the many baby products underneath his changing table. As she explained their uses, Luna couldn't help but feel like she was talking to herself. Glancing over at Draco, who had officially become a baby hog, Luna's suspicions were confirmed, as he wasn't even pretending to listen. Instead he was making silly faces at Landon.

"Draco!" she snapped. "Could you pay attention, please?"

"I am," he assured her, never even looking at her.

"No, you're not, and I really need you to know this stuff!"

"Could you stop nagging me for five minutes and let me enjoy spending some time with my son?" he asked, sarcastically. "Its not exactly Arithmancy. The nappy goes on the bum... what more do you need to know! It's not like I ever planned on putting it on his head."

"You have to put baby powder on his bum to prevent chaffing. But he doesn't like it, so you have to distract him when you do it...

"Okay, I get it, there are some tricks that I've got to learn but can we do it another time?" he asked, politely. "Please?"

"When will you have time, Draco?" she asked, softening her tone a bit. "You've got a job and I won't always be there when he needs to be changed."

"Trust me, I'll find you. I've no intention of changing nappies," he said, laughing. "Not really my thing."

"Well you had better make it 'your thing'," Luna warned him. "You don't just get the good, you get the bad too... and that includes soiled nappies." Draco rolled his eyes, just as Mr. Lovegood was entering the nursery.

"I was thinking," he began. "Draco, you mentioned that you had the decorators working on your house for the next week. So, instead of staying at home where its sure to be chaotic, why don't you stay here with us?" Luna looked at her father as if he had lost his mind, while Draco's face lit up with glee.

"That would be..." Draco began, but Luna interrupted him.

"Terrible, that would be terrible," she said, sounding flabbergasted.

"No, Luna, I think it would be wonderful," her father assured her. "Think of it this way, Draco will have a week to ease into his role as a father while under our supervision. You can make sure that he learns everything that he would needs to know in order to care for Landon, if you aren't there. It would give me some peace of mind to see that Draco knew what he was doing before my only daughter and grandson went to live with him."

"Daddy!" she whined, her arms crossed over her chest as she pouted. After having seen both Draco and his daughter do the exact same, childish thing, he was suddenly reminded of just how young they both were.

"For an old wizards peace of mind?" her father pleaded, looking down at her thoughtfully.

"Oh, fine," she muttered, before storming towards the door. "I'm going to go get dressed."

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Now, thanks to her father's suggestion, no matter where she went or how quietly she went there, Luna was sure to run into Draco. The worst part was that every morning when she came downstairs to make herself a cup of hot tea, Draco was already sitting at the breakfast table with Landon wide awake in his arms. Luna had no qualms about admitting that she wasn't a morning person, but adding to that, her having to deal with someone who was beginning to agitate her to no end, was proving to be a little more than she could bear. Luna had expected Draco's participation in his son's upbringing to affect quite a few aspects of her life, but Landon's sleep pattern was not one of them. Draco was unable to keep his hands off of the boy. No sooner than she would lay him down, his father would dash up to the nursery claiming that he _'wasn't done playing with him just yet'_. Apparently, Draco didn't seem to understand that if he kept disrupting Landon's sleeping pattern the way he was, the poor boy would never let them go to sleep. As it was, Luna was already spending half of her nights awake with the baby, and she certainly wasn't looking forward to making it the entire night. Even after sitting him down and explaining to him why he needed to let Landon take his naps, Draco still insisted on waking him up. Luna was half tempted to put something in Draco's drink that would make him fall asleep, so that he couldn't wake the baby, but after thinking it through she figured that it would probably be a bad idea, not mention illegal.

One good thing that did come from Draco's constant presence was that he was now fully aware of just how much work went into raising a child. The first night that Draco stayed over at Luna's house, he decided to be nice, and told her that if Landon woke up and started crying, he would attend to him so that she could get some sleep. When he said that, Luna couldn't help but think that maybe this arrangement wouldn't be so bad, however, a rather sinister part of her subconscious was laughing at him for making such an offer. It appeared that Draco didn't have the slightest idea just what he was getting himself into.

Luna wasn't surprised in the least, when Draco gently shook her awake just after midnight that night, complaining about not being able to figure out what the boy wanted. He had claimed to have tried everything to quiet Landon, but Luna knew that his statement couldn't possibly be true. Sitting up, Luna readied herself to feed the baby. Just as he had done earlier that day, Draco freaked out and muttered a pathetic excuse to leave before nearly running out of the room. She didn't see him again that night, and the following morning at breakfast, he refused to even look at her. That was when she discovered how best to steal a few Draco-free moments. All she had to do was announce that it was time for Landon to eat, and off he would go. You'd think that Draco would have been clever enough to figure out what she was doing, especially since she was claiming to feed Landon upwards of twelve times a day, but as of yet, he hadn't.

As moving day approached, Luna began to get more and more nervous. In just a few hours time, she would no longer live in her childhood home and would instead be taking up residence with Draco Malfoy, of all people! It was at that moment that she really realized that she was not only going to be living with him but that she'd given birth to _his _son. The strangeness of the situation finally began to seep in. Luna had always thought that it was an odd predicament she had gotten herself into, but the permanency of her situation finally hit her. Not only would she forever be a mother, but she would forever be tied to her child's father. For the rest of her life, Draco Malfoy would be around, and Luna wasn't quite sure how she felt about that.

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AFTER CHECKING THE STATS ON THIS STORY , I'VE FOUND THAT MY ORIGINAL ASSUMPTION, THAT PEOPLE JUST WEREN'T INTERESTED IN THIS STORY, WAS WRONG. A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE READING THIS STORY AND SIGNING UP FOR ALERTS ON IT, BUT JUST AREN'T REVIEWING.

SO FROM NOW ON, I WILL NOT BE POSTING A NEW CHAPTER UNTIL THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER HAS RECEIVED AT LEAST FIVE REVIEWS, WHICH BASED ON THE STATS, ISN'T VERY MUCH. SORRY TO BE SO WHINY BUT DESPERATE WRITERS, DO DESPERATE THINGS.

FYI: I'm not really desperate... well, maybe just a little : )

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	8. All Dolled Up With Somewhere to Go

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 8: All Dolled Up With Somewhere to Go**

It was official, Draco Malfoy was hands down the single most obnoxious human being on the face of the Earth. Or at least that was Luna's newfound opinion of her son's father. It wasn't like he was doing any one thing that was driving her crazy, it was more a combination of everything he did that made Luna want to string him up by his feet and beat him like a pinata. As she lay in her bedchambers contemplating whether or not there was a way to get rid of him without getting caught, Luna's eyes kept wandering over to the bare walls and empty wardrobe of her childhood room. She couldn't help but be saddened at the thought of leaving the only home she'd ever known, which was exactly what she would be doing in less than twenty-four hours. Just as she was getting ready to get up off of her bed and flip through some of her old things that lay piled up against the wall, she heard a light knocking at her door. Changing her direction, Luna went to open it.

"Draco," Luna grumbled, less than thrilled to see the current bane of her existence standing outside of her bedroom door. "It's not time to wake Landon up from his nap, yet."

"I know that," he replied, rolling his eyes and walking into her room without invitation.

"Gee, come on in. Make yourself at home," she griped.

"I would but I haven't the time right now," he said, sarcastically, shooting her his trademark smirk as he flopped down onto her bed. "Before you throw a fit over my being in your _sanctuary_, I wanted to let you know that you need to be dressed and ready by six-thirty."

"Ready for what?" she asked, not having the slightest idea what he was talking about.

"Can't tell," he replied, lying down flat and tucking his hands underneath his head so that he could better see her. "It's a surprise."

"How am I supposed to know what to wear if you won't tell me why I'm getting dressed in the first place?" she asked, her hands at her hips; she'd been spending a lot of time in that position as of late.

"I've taken the liberty of picking out your dress for you," Draco said, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a tiny parcel, along with his wand. After whispering an incantation, the package enlarged, and he handed it to Luna. Not waiting for her to open it, Draco left her room, reminding her to be ready by six-thirty as he did so.

Warily, Luna untied the dark green ribbon that held the package closed and opened the shiny black box. The slightly cynical part of her personality half expected a poisonous snake to jump out and bite her, figuring Draco would do just about anything to have Landon all to himself. Rolling her eyes at her own absurdity, Luna pulled back the numerous layers of green tissue paper back to reveal the most beautiful gown she'd ever seen. Excitedly, Luna removed the dress from the box and brought the delicate lace gown up against her body as she rushed towards her full length mirror. Draco certainly had impeccable taste, she admitted as she gazed at her reflection. Just by looking at the dress, Luna knew that it had to have cost a small fortune. As she was admiring the gorgeous creation, her timer went off signaling her that it was time to wake Landon for supper. As she went to silence the timer, it was then that she realized that it was already five-o'clock, which meant she only had an hour and a half to get Landon situated and get herself ready. Kicking it into high gear, Luna rushed to the nursery faster than she could ever recall having done so.

After feeding Landon, giving him a bath and getting him dressed again, Luna wasn't left with all that much time to get ready for whatever Draco had planned, but she somehow managed to ready herself by quarter to seven. Luna had never really been a big fan of makeup but since Draco had given her so beautiful dress, she decided to actually wear some; even it wasn't much.

Walking down the stairs to meet up with Draco, Luna couldn't help but feel like a million galleons. The gown Draco had chosen for her was perfect. She was sure that some sort of spell had to have been used to make it fit so well. The vintage black lace hugged her curves like a second skin. Luckily, Draco had taken into consideration that Luna was fairly modest and wouldn't have been comfortable showing too much skin. Instead of going with the theory that less is more, Draco selected a fitted, floor-length, black lace gown that had a short sweeping train and three-quarter length sleeves that flared out to a ruffle hem at the elbow. Though the lace was transparent, the bodice and skirt of the gown were lined with black fabric to help ensure that she wasn't overexposed. The sleeves and shoulders were still see through, adding a bit of sex appeal to the dress. The only immodest aspect of the design was the back of the gown, which was completely bare and dipped down to Luna's lower back. Draco had even chosen the perfect stilettoes and clutch to go with the dress.

"I knew it would be perfect on you," Draco said, as he climbed the few stairs remaining between them to meet her. Taking her hand, Draco leaned down and gently kissed her hand. "You look gorgeous."

"Thanks," she whispered, an easily noticeable blush creeping across her cheeks. "What's all of this about anyway?"

"Maybe I'm wrong, but I just thought that you could use some Luna time since you've been in Mum-mode without a reprieve, for so long. Seeing as how we're leaving here tomorrow, I figured this would be your last chance for a while and your Dad was more than willing to watch Landon for us. So, I decided to get you all dolled up and take you out for a night on the town." For a few moments, Luna was speechless. She'd assumed that he'd been invited to some work or Ministry party and hadn't had time to get a date, so he decided to have her tag along. To know that he had done all of this for her and her alone, was quite touching and the more she thought about it, the more emotional she became. Unable to hold it back, tears started trickling down Luna's cheeks.

"Thank you," she whispered, removing a handkerchief from her clutch and dabbing at her eyes. The proud look on Draco's face instantly faded when he noticed that she was crying.

"Well shit," he said, sounding confused. "What did I do?"

"Nothing. It's not you... well, it is," she stammered, feeling ridiculous for crying. "It was just really sweet of you to care, that's all. The tears are just because my hormones are still a bit out of whack."

"For a second there, I started to think I screwed up again," he replied, sounding relieved. "I know I've been a pain this week and, believe it or not, I'm trying to cool it some but its just not working. I'm really not trying to drive you nutters, I like you too much to do that, it's just a really exciting time for me right now." As Draco apologized for his overzealous behavior, Luna began to cry even harder causing her mascara to streak down her cheeks. Trying to calm the openly sobbing witch, Draco wrapped his arms around her. Just then, her father passed through the foyer with a pajama clad Landon cradled in his arms.

"Things not quite going as planned?" he asked, staring at the couple oddly, a soft smile pulling at his lips. He was well aware of just how emotional Luna had been since even before she had given birth to Landon, and when Draco had told him what he had planned, her father had fully expected it to hit Luna hard.

"She's not mad, she's emotional," Draco corrected, turning his head so that he could see Mr. Lovegood.

"And now we're even later than before," she informed, wiping at her streaked face with the handkerchief. Removing his wand, Luna's father approached her and whispered an incantation. The slight tingling sensation that buzzed across her skin explained what he had done. Checking a nearby mirror, Luna found that her makeup was once again as it should be.

"We're not late anyway," Draco said, leaning over and kissing Landon goodbye as he lay in his grandfathers arms.

"It's almost seven," Luna said, pointing at the large grandfather clock that was situated towards the back of the foyer. "You said to be ready by six-thirty."

"Yes, but that's because I knew that you'd probably be running a few minutes late. Our reservations aren't until seven-fifteen."

"You prat," she said, laughing, as she smacked him on the arm with her clutch. "I was rushing around up there like a fool."

"Well, if I hadn't lied than we really would be late," he argued, playfully. "I spent seventeen years picking up on these things from my Mum."

"True, but still," Luna pouted. "Where are we going for supper?"

"I figured we'd expand our horizons this evening," Draco said, offering Luna his arm as they headed towards the door. "Bye Mr. Lovegood, thanks again."

"No problem," he replied, taking Landon's tiny hand and waving it at his parents playfully.

"Bye-bye Daddy," Luna said, turning back to her father and son. "Bye Lanny."

"Have fun!" Mr. Lovegood shouted, as the door was closing.

"So what did you mean when you said we were expanding our horizons?" Luna asked, as they walked down the front steps. Without answering, Draco wrapped his arms around her and the two sidelong apparated to an empty park that was unfamiliar to Luna.

"Tonight, we will enjoy our evening as the Muggles do," he informed her, once they had reached their destination. Leading Luna down the drive, towards what looked like a Muggle automobile, Draco further explained their plans. "Herald here," he said, gesturing towards the man who was exiting the car to open the door for them. "Will be taking us to a lovely little Muggle restaurant that is supposed to be absolutely fantastic, and then he'll usher us to the opera... that was your Dad's idea. He's said you'd gone a couple of times with him and that you'd liked it, so I figured I stick with what I know you like."

"That's sounds wonderful," Luna whispered, smiling at Draco gratefully.

"You're not going to start crying again are you?" he asked. Truth be told, crying girls made Draco horribly nervous and the last thing he wanted was to make her cry twice in one night; even if they were happy tears.

"No," she said. "Well, if you keep this up I might." Taking her hand from the crook of his arm, Draco helped her into the car before seating himself next to her, his arm resting behind her head on the back of the seat. The first few minutes of their ride was made in silence, the two simply enjoying each others quiet company but as Draco stared at her, Luna felt compelled to speak.

"You look nice, Draco."

"So do you," he replied, grinning at her. The way he was looking at her was beginning to unsettle Luna a bit.

"Stop that," she said, laughing, playfully covering his eyes. "Why are you doing that?"

"What?"

"Looking at me like that?"

"You look really pretty," he explained, simply. "I knew you were pretty but you completely topped yourself tonight."

"Well in that case keep looking," she joked. Luna had to admit it was really nice to feel pretty again. After gaining and losing so much weight and spending her time around baby poop and vomit, Draco's attention was quite reaffirming. "I really needed this, Draco. I don't know how I'll be able to thank you."

"I can think of a few things that might work," he replied, knowing that Luna would catch his drift. "But I'd settle for a kiss goodnight, if all goes well." Luna's eyes grew wide, as she felt a distinct tightening in her lower abdomen at the thought of actually kissing Draco; and it certainly wasn't an undesirable feeling for one to have either . '_Well that certainly complicates matters_,' Luna thought, as Draco stepped out of the car and offered her his hand so that she could exit as well. Suddenly, Luna realized that her relaxing night out might not be as relaxing as she had originally thought it would be.

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Luna was correct when she said that her relaxing evening out was taking a turn in the opposite direction. All night long, all she could focus on was Draco's mouth. At no point in her life had she ever considered someone eating steak to be sexy, especially since she was a vegetarian, but she had to admit that Draco made it look quite appealing. Several times during the course of their supper, Draco had to interrupt her admittedly inappropriate thoughts because she didn't seem like she was paying attention to anything. Which was true, seeing as how she hadn't even touched her own dinner.

Thanks to Luna's distracted thoughts, their entire meal lacked any real conversation. Even though Draco tried desperately to get her to talk to him, Luna wasn't really able to reciprocate. Finally, he'd just given up and decided to enjoy his supper. Since the show didn't start until quarter after nine, and they had finished their supper well before eight-thirty due to the lack of interruptions, Draco decided that they might as well enjoy some tea and dessert now, rather than after the show, as he had planned. While they waited for their dessert to be made, Draco and Luna continued their quiet stare down; that is, until Draco couldn't take it anymore.

"What has gotten into you?" he asked, suddenly, snapping his fingers in front of her eyes in an attempt at getting her attention.

"What?" she asked, feigning innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've been out of it since we got here," he explained, as he stirred his tea. "Did I say something to upset you?"

"No," she assured him. "I just... I don't... I guess I'm not used to being out of the house or something." That was a blatant lie and she knew it. Luna's only real problem at the moment was refraining from ripping Draco's clothes off of his body and having her way with him, which was an uncharacteristic desire for her to have. Luna had never felt like this before and she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Part of her couldn't help but think that maybe he put something in one of her drinks earlier that day, and her current behavior was his fault. Luna knew it wasn't true but it gave her a scapegoat, so she wasn't about to question it.

"Well, do you think that we might be able to actually talk?" he asked, pleadingly.

"What about?"

"Anything, so long as there are words coming out of your mouth." Draco laughed, reaching across the table and taking her hand in his. "I'm not quite sure what to make of you when your silent." Thankfully, the waiter returned with their dessert and Draco let go of her hand, which saved her from having to try and focus on what he was saying while he touched her. "I've heard that this is supposed to be the best molten chocolate cake in Europe." Draco said, gesturing towards the chocolate confection in front of him.

"It looks delicious," Luna replied, genuinely eager to try it. Needless to say, whoever told Draco that this dessert was the best, was definitely right. "It is wonderful."

"Yep," Draco agreed. "I've been meaning to ask you about the research you had been working on. Do you think you'll start it again?"

"I really don't think I've ever tasted anything this fantastic before," Luna said, ignoring his question.

"Luna," Draco said, softly. "Why won't you even talk about it?"

"Because I don't want to," she replied, curtly. "Can we talk about something else, please?"

"Your Dad said that he thought you were really close to a cure," Draco continued, ignoring her pleading with him to change the subject. "Why would you want to give up on something like that? That's very unlike you."

"How would you know?" she snapped. "You don't really know anything about me, Draco. For all you know, I could very well have a track record of starting things and not finishing them."

"But you don't," he assured her, unflustered by her sudden change in mood. "I understand that you were really hurt by what Professor Snape did but is that really reason enough to turn your back on all of those people who are waiting for a cure? What about their families. They've got children they don't know of, and without a cure, they'll never remember them. Don't you think that's a bit more important than nursing your wounds?"

"What time does the show start?" she asked, tightly, her eyes focused on a random spot on the silk tablecloth.

"Stop trying to change the subject," Draco said, laughing. "Why would you start something so important and just abandon it like this?"

"Why should I give a damn about them!" she asked, cruelly. "Not one person, outside of my family, had the decency to genuinely care about me. They spent all of their time taunting me and making fun of me behind my back. My so called friends were even doing it. Why should I bust my ass trying to find a cure for those ungrateful bastard's." Draco was floored. Not only had he never seen Luna so angry before, but the last time he'd ever seen so much hate in one person's eyes was the last time he heard his father speaking about Muggleborns and blood-traitors. It was horribly unexpected to find that Luna harbored so much anger just under the surface. He'd known that Snape's actions had affected her greatly but he'd never known that she was still so angry about it.

"Luna," Draco began.

"Save it, Malfoy. You were just as bad as the rest of them," she warned. "You may have changed, but it doesn't change how you treated me."

"I know that. I just hope you can move past it."

"I gave birth to your child, didn't I?" A deep frown creased Draco's flawless skin and regret filled his eyes, as he gazed at the bitter shell of the girl he'd attended Hogwarts with; her once dazed and content eyes now tightly focused and welled with unshed tears. "Look, Draco, I tried to change the subject, you just wouldn't listen."

"I know. I just thought that if you got it out, you'd feel better," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Do you?"

"No."

"Didn't think so." He said, winching slightly at her affirmation. "So, your Dad was right when he said that Snape's chucking your research triggered a change in your opinion of everyone?"

"Draco, my entire life, I've been different. I was always _that _girl, the one that everyone loved to make fun of," she explained, her words coming out strained thanks to her trying to control her anger and hurt. "And you know what? It never really bothered me too much. I was me and they were them, and even though they had their flaws I always thought that, on the whole, people were good and decent. Well, good and decent people don't burn five years of another persons life with absolutely no regard for how the other person would feel. Good and decent people don't taunt a girl for believing that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks are real. They don't hide her clothes and her books, forcing her to put notices on the bulletin boards requesting that they be returned to her. They don't laugh when that girls world comes crashing down around her. I've learned that no matter how optimistic I am, or how many times my Mum told me to just be me and they'll respect me for it in the end, the vast majority of people are not good and decent. They're cruel, and they're petty and they'll do whatever they can to make you feel like less than dirt just because you're different from them."

"Oh," he replied, lamely. Draco hated to admit it but Luna was mostly right. Granted he didn't agree that the world was full of cruel and indecent people, he did agree that they'd do all that they could to make others feel like shit just so they could feel better about themselves. Hell, he'd made a career of it while at Hogwarts. "I can't say that I know how you feel, because I don't. The truth is, I know that you're at least partly right about people. But I also know that deep down, even though you're bitter, you're still Luna. And I honestly believe that someday you'll be able to put your anger aside and you'll end up regretting having turned your back on all of those victims out there."

"Be that as it may, I've got a son I have to take care of," she replied, softly.

"What has Landon got to do with finding a cure for Obliviate?"

"If something happens to me, who'll care for Landon?" she asked. "My father shouldn't have to raise my child."

"I would," Draco said, slightly offended by her completely leaving him out of the equation. "Why would something happen to you?" It wasn't like she was battling dragons, so Draco couldn't understand why she was so worried.

"My mother devoted the better part of her adolescence and adult life trying to find a cure for Obliviate. When her brother fell victim to Gilderoy Lockhart and his obliviate charm, my Mum became fanatical about trying to find a cure. That's what she was working on when she died. I won't risk leaving my son without a mother. My Dad did a wonderful job raising me but there are times when I want my Mum. I can't do that to Landon. I just can't. When I found out I was pregnant, that was the proverbial nail in the coffin. I swore I'd never start my research again because I knew that eventually I'd have to test my theories and that's when I'd be putting myself in the most danger."

"I'm sorry, Luna," Draco said, softly. "I didn't know. If I had know about your Mum dying while working on a cure, I wouldn't have pushed."

"It's fine," she muttered. Luna stared at him detached. "I hope you're right, though. I hope that I do regret it, because right now, I don't and that's terrifies me. I used to believe in things, in people, but now... I just want to go back to believing in everything, the way I used to, but I can't."

"You're not ready yet," Draco said, standing and offering her his arm. "But when you are, you'll know. What do you say we get to the Opera?"

"Okay," she said, offering him a weak smile. Luna hoped, more than anything, that Draco was right. She hoped that someday, someday soon, she'd be able to leave behind the bitterness and hatred that had taken up residence in her heart and in her mind.

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Three hours later, Draco and a much happier Luna, exited the theater having thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular presentation of Giacomo Puccini's opera, Turandot featuring the incomparable Luciano Pavarotti. Draco had never before seen an Opera and he had to admit it was quite a show. He'd expected to be bored senseless and only intended on enduring it because he thought it would make Luna feel better. Now that he'd experienced it, Draco was officially a fan.

"Nessun dorma, Nessun dorma!" Draco sang loudly, pretending to serenade Luna as they walked down the stone steps of the theater. "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blahhh, blah, blah, blah, blah, blahhh!" Draco had apparently forgotten that the other guests were also leaving the show, and they were now staring at them with smiles on their faces.

"You haven't the slightest idea what the words are, do you?" Luna asked, blushing as Draco continued to hum the song to her.

"Not a clue, love," he replied, happily. "Do you?"

"Yes, I do," she replied.

"Well, what does it mean?" he asked, impatiently.

"Nessun dorma, mean's no-one sleeps," she replied, as they reached their car; Herald was already waiting to open the door for them.

"That's pretty," Draco said, in an uncharacteristically chipper tone, as he helped Luna into the car before seating himself next to her. "I really liked that. We should see another one soon."

"I'm going to hold you to that," she warned, playfully poking at his chest before leaning back against the supple leather seat and closing her eyes. Luna was exhausted. Landon had been a bundle of energy all day and it was already after midnight. She'd be lucky to stay awake for the entire ride back to their apparation point.

"Do you want to walk back to the house from where we apparated?" Luna heard Draco say what seemed a few moments later but was actually twenty minutes later. Turns out she was right, she hadn't been able to stay awake for the entire ride.

"Sure," she replied, groggily. "That would be great." Luna settled back against Draco's chest and closed her eyes.

"Um, Luna, we're here," Draco said, wondering why she was trying to go back asleep.

"Oh," she said, laughing as she rose and stumbled out of the car door. After Draco had tipped the driver and said goodbye, the pair headed off towards Luna's house.

It only took them about twenty minutes to make it to the house from the park but Luna was more than glad to see the familiar structure. When Draco had mentioned walking back home, he hadn't taken into consideration that she was wearing four inch heels. Five minutes into their journey, Luna had to abandon her new shoes and instead walk home barefooted. Draco had mentioned just apparating the rest of the way home but Luna had decided against it since it was such a beautiful night.

"I had a fantastic time, Draco," Luna said, as she and Draco climbed the stairs that led to the front door. "I can't thank you enough."

"I believe we established that earlier today," Draco said, following closely behind her. "But I do recall mentioning that a kiss would be thanks enough." Just his mentioning it brought back that tingling feeling in the pit of Luna's stomach.

"Do you really think that's such a good idea?" she asked, thankful that it was dark out, otherwise Draco would have been able to see the deep pink blush that had taken over her cheeks.

"Did you have a good time?"

"Yes, I already said I did," she replied.

"Than I think it's a bloody brilliant idea." Draco didn't wait for her response before slowly lowering his mouth to hers. It only took seconds for what started out as a sweet kiss to become much more. The next thing the pair knew they were stumbling into the pitch black sitting room and falling down onto the nearest couch, their lips never parting.

"I wish you wouldn't do that while I was here." The voice of Luna's father jolted the pair back to reality and they finally broke their kiss.

"Daddy?" Luna asked for clarification, still unable to see anything. Thankfully her father flicked on a nearby lamp, revealing himself to the entangled couple.

"Luna... Draco," he said, awkwardly. "I take it things went well this evening."

"Pretty good," Draco said, as Luna was trying to push him off of her so that she could get up. "How was your evening?"

"Not nearly as good as yours, it would seem," Mr. Lovegood said, laughing as he stood to leave.

"Why were you sitting in the dark?" Luna asked, finally able to extricate herself from Draco's grasp.

"I just like to sit here and clear my head sometimes," he replied, bidding the pair goodnight. "Enjoy your evening."

Luna was officially mortified. Not only had she let her hormones get the best of her, but she'd been caught by her father. It officially couldn't get any worse. Not only did she have her embarrassment to contend with but Draco didn't seem to think that her father witnessing their gropefest was reason enough to call it a night. He was actually trying to get her to pick up where they'd left off. After slapping his roaming hands away several times, Draco finally got the picture and allowed Luna to sidestep him so she could get to her room. A few minutes later, a very frustrated Draco, followed suit, mumbling unhappily to himself as he headed to bed.

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THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR REVIEWS OF THE LAST CHAPTER. I HATED TO RESORT TO SUCH BLATANT MEASURES BUT I USE YOUR REVIEWS TO GAUGE HOW THE STORY SHOULD CONTINUE. I HAVE MOST OF IT ALREADY HANDWRITTEN AND WHEN I TYPE IT, I'M GIVEN THE CHANCE TO ADD AND OMIT BASED ON HOW ITS BEING RECEIVED. SO ANY INPUT YOU HAVE ON HOW THE CHARACTERS ARE DEVELOPING AND THE PLOT, ETC ARE TREMENDOUSLY USEFUL AND GREATLY APPRECIATED.

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	9. When One Door Closes, Another One Opens

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 9: When One Door Closes, Another One Opens**

After the previous nights interesting turn of events, Mr. Lovegood was certainly eager to see how Luna and Draco's already fragile relationship would fare. When Draco had brought up taking Luna out for the evening, he knew that she'd appreciate it but he hadn't expected her to appreciate it that much. Walking in on his daughter snogging was both surprising and uncomfortable for Mr. Lovegood. Luna had never once even expressed so much as a crush, so he'd never had the chance to prepare and practice for, what he called, his daughters hormonal years. But, after all, she was seventeen and a mother, so its not like he hadn't expected this change in her behavior. Deciding to take it all in stride, Mr. Lovegood continued about his normal morning routine and after preparing a pot of tea and some toast, he headed for the breakfast room.

Right on time, Draco came striding into the breakfast room fifteen minutes later, just as he had done every morning since he'd been invited to stay with them. However, unlike past mornings, Draco was less than chatty. Usually, he would bound into the breakfast room ready to talk but this morning he was tight lipped. After giving the boy enough time to ready his tea and rather angrily butter his toast, Mr. Lovegood decided to find out just what was eating at him.

"Something bothering you, Draco?" Mr. Lovegood asked, smiling as he sipped his tea.

"No," Draco grumbled, sinking his teeth into his toast. For several moments, Draco was silent before finally providing his host with a real answer. "What is wrong her! We were having a perfectly fantastic night and she goes and ruins it by becoming all frigid."

"She didn't look all that frigid to me," her father replied, recalling that the pair looked quite cozy when he'd left them.

"After you went to bed, she decided that she didn't want to mess around anymore."

"I see," Mr. Lovegood replied, sitting his tea cup down. "Draco, I don't think Luna ever planned on taking things as far as you think she did."

"I know we weren't going to shag," Draco assured him. "But I don't understand why she's so bloody well hot and cold, all the time. There's no middle ground and it's really starting to confuse the hell out of me. One minute she wants me, then she doesn't, then she does again but only long enough to get me excited and then she's back to not wanting me!"

"So you are confused," Luna's father said, having expected this all along.

"Yes, I mean if she doesn't want me, than fine, she doesn't want me but don't keep sending me mixed signals; and as far as I'm concerned your tongue in my mouth is a mixed signal," Draco whined, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "I just wish she'd make up her friggin' mind."

"I agree," Mr. Lovegood said. "She's just as confused by all of this as you are. Just be patient."

"I have been patient," Draco mumbled. "She's the mother of my son, I adore her... even if I did want a daughter,"

"You wanted a girl?" Mr. Lovegood asked, shocked by that revelation.

"Yeah, I always wanted to have a daughter. Little girls are so much cuter than little boys. Don't get me wrong, I love Landon to death but I'd would have loved to have a girl."

"You do know it's possible to have more than one child, right?" Luna's father asked for clarification. The way Draco was talking you'd think is was impossible or something.

"You think Luna would go for that?" Draco asked, perking up a bit. "I would if she would."

"Why would that concern my daughter?"

"I don't think she'd be too happy if I didn't check with her first," he said, laughing.

"Why would it matter to Luna if you had a daughter with someone else? Say, a wife or girlfriend maybe."

"Oh, you weren't talking about my having another child with Luna, were you?"

"No. Draco you've got to start thinking ahead and in terms of your not being in a relationship with Luna. I know that you've got your mind set on you and her and Landon being a family but that's not what she wants. At least that's not what she says she wants. I'm sorry to say it, but it doesn't seem likely that the two of you'll end up together."

"True, it doesn't look likely, however, I haven't used my best moves yet," Draco informed her father, a sly grin on his face. "But when I do, I don't think she'll be able to resist me. No one ever has." Standing, Draco walked to the doorway of the breakfast room before turning back to Mr. Lovegood. "I'm going to give it one more shot and then I'll let her alone."

"Alright," her father said, smiling. He truly hoped that Draco was successful in his endeavor. Mr. Lovegood really wanted Landon to have, what he considered, a proper family and in order for that to happen, Luna would have to give the young wizard a genuine chance at being a father and significant other. "I hope all goes well."

"Me too," the young man replied, smiling. "I've got to go by the house and make sure everything is ready. I should be back around eleven."

"Okay. Bye, Draco."

"Bye!"

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"Ughhh," Luna groaned softly, pulling the covers up over her head. It wasn't everyday a young witch got caught snogging the father of her child on her sitting room sofa by her father, which was probably why, no matter how hard she tried, Luna simply couldn't get the previous nights events out of her mind. To her father's credit, he seemed to take their liaison in stride and laughed if off, however, Luna couldn't do the same. She wouldn't deny that she did in fact enjoy her and Draco's kiss but she couldn't help but be angry with herself for having so little resolve. Since the moment Draco had popped into her and Landon's lives, Luna had sworn that she didn't desire any sort of romantic relationship with him, but after one night out she'd already reneged, and naturally, it had to be in front of an audience. So, it's not like she could even deny it ever happened

Sure that she would never live down her behavior and far too embarrassed to face her father just yet, Luna remained curled up under her duvet for as long as possible that morning. It wasn't until she heard Landon screaming bloody murder at around nine-fifteen that she finally dragged herself out of bed and went to get him. When she reached the nursery, still unspotted by either Draco or her father, Luna hurried inside to retrieve her agitated son. Gathering the still crying Landon into her arms, Luna hot tailed it back to her room instead of feeding him in the nursery as she usually did. Normally, Luna wouldn't avoid her problems like this, but she wasn't exactly sure how else to deal with it.

Once Landon had been fed and bathed, Luna settled back into bed with her son lying on his back next to her while she played with him. Not twenty minutes later, Luna heard a soft knocking at her door. She was half tempted to ignore it and pretend to still be asleep, but she knew that Landon's presence would give her away, so instead, Luna rose and went to answer her door.

"Daddy," Luna greeted her father, nervously.

"Morning, Love," he said, entering her room and walking over to Landon who lay staring up at the ceiling on his mother's bed. "I was beginning to worry that something was wrong when you didn't come downstairs as usual. Any particular reason you're avoiding me?" Her father eyed her knowingly. Mr. Lovegood didn't doubt that Luna was embarrassed about what happened with Draco last night and he couldn't help but poke fun at her for it.

"No, I was just tired," she said, innocently. "It was a really long night." The moment Luna said it, she regretted it. She knew exactly what her words had implicated and it certainly hadn't been her intention to allude to her and Draco having made a night of it.

"That's not what I meant..."

"I know that nothing more than what I saw happened, Luna," her father replied, hoping to ease her mortification. "Draco spent all morning whining about it. I swear I think that boy sometimes forgets that I'm your father."

"I don't know why he would have expected anything to happen," Luna said, a confused look on her face. "I thought that I'd made it quite clear that there wasn't going to be anything like that between us."

"No, you haven't made it clear," her father argued, sounding a bit agitated with her. "You're being indecisive and it's only proving to confuse Draco."

"How am I being indecisive?" Luna snapped, not appreciating her father's siding with Draco on this. "From day one I said that there would be no funny business."

"And yet, you spent the end of your evening with your mouth effectively sealed against his." he pointed out. "That's not making things clear, Luna. You're right when you say that you've been telling him from day one that there would be no romantic relationship between you, but your actions prove otherwise. And as I've always said, your actions speak louder than your words. It's not fair to Draco for you to keep leading him on like this and it'll only confuse Landon when he's older. If you really mean it when you say that there's no hope for you and Draco than you have to stick by that, otherwise your son's going to end up suffering the consequences." Luna hated it when her father was right. She didn't want to admit it but she had been leading him on a bit. Last nights kiss should have never happened, but because of her lack of resolve, it did, and now she had to deal with the very confusing consequences of it.

"Was Draco mad?" she asked, softly.

"I wouldn't say he was mad," her father said, a small grin on his face. "Draco's used to getting what he wants and now that he can't have it, he's not exactly sure how to handle the situation. I believe, in his mind, this has turned into a game of cat and mouse, and Luna, I don't think you'll stand much of a chance. As I said in the beginning, he can be very charming when he wants to be. You witnessed that last night."

"Bugger," Luna mumbled, knowing damn well that her father was right. Draco had a very competitive nature and he was willing to do just about anything to see to it that he got what he wanted. Last night was definitely a testament to what she was up against. Had Mr. Lovegood not interrupted them, there was a very good chance that she would have woken up with Draco in her bed that morning. "What should I do?"

"Personally, I think you should keep an open mind," her father replied, rocking Landon back and forth as he cradled him. "Draco's not a bad guy and I think that you two compliment each other quite well. You could both learn a thing or two from each other."

"I don't think so," Luna said, pessimistically. "Is he in the kitchen?"

"No, he went by the house to make sure that everything was ready for you and Landon before he had your stuff taken over there," Mr. Lovegood said, smiling at his daughter. "After he vented his frustration over last night, he seemed really excited about the move."

"Did he say when he'd be back?"

"He said he should be back by eleven," Mr. Lovegood replied. "Luna, maybe you should wait a while before you bring any of this up. Today's going to be a good day and you shouldn't put a damper on it for him. At least give him today."

"Fine," she said, breathlessly.

"I'll take Landon so you can get cleaned up and finish any packing that you have left," her father said, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. "Perk up! This is an exciting thing, Luna."

"I'll try," she replied, weakly as her father left the room.

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Just as promised, Draco returned to the Lovegood Estate just before eleven o'clock. Bounding up the stairs, he went straight to Luna's bedchambers so that he could help her move her stuff. When he reached Luna's room Draco was surprised to find that her door was open. Usually she kept it shut, or at least he assumed she usually did seeing as how she had kept it shut ever since he'd started staying there. Peaking inside, Draco found Luna and her father already shrinking her belongings to a manageable size with Landon lying on his blankey watching them.

"Hey," Draco said, entering the room and heading straight for the lounging baby. As usual, at the sight of his father, little Landon's arms and legs started thrashing about excitedly. "Well, hi there little guy."

"So, how did everything look?" Mr. Lovegood asked, as he shrunk what seemed like the thousandth trunk filled with Luna's clothes.

"It looked awesome," Draco said, picking Landon up and lying the boy against his chest as he went over to get a closer look at Luna and her father's progress. "I think you're really going to like it. The whole manor is really bright. I was surprised cause these are the same people who decorated my parents manor and that one turned out really dark and kind of creepy. This one has lots of light blue and white and light oak woods. I think its cause I told them you were in Ravenclaw."

"Did they finish the nursery?" Luna asked, beginning to get excited about seeing the place.

"Yeah, but I didn't look at it while I was there," he replied, laughing as Landon burped loudly in his ear thanks to his father's patting him on the back.

"He just ate again not too long ago," Luna explained, as she wiped the bit of spit up off of the baby's lips and Draco's shirt. "Why wouldn't you look at the nursery?"

"I kind of wanted to wait for you and Landon," he replied, simply.

"Oh, well we're almost done," Luna said, a small smile on her face. She couldn't help but gaze at him as he paced the length of the room cuddling Landon against his chest and whispering in the boys ear. It seemed like every time she was ready to sit him down and tell him how things were going to be from now on, he'd say or do something that was so sweet and completely unexpected that it made her question her entire outlook on their relationship, or lack thereof.

"Actually dear," her father said, jolting Luna back to reality. "We're done." Placing the last shrunken trunk into the case they were using to store her stuff for the move, Mr. Lovegood joined Luna and Draco over by the bed. "Are you guys ready to head out?"

"Yep," Draco said, grabbing Landon's blankey off of Luna's bare bed and throwing it over his shoulder that Landon wasn't lying against. "I'll go get Landon's baby bag."

"Do we have to go so soon?" Luna asked, nervously, having realized that this was really happening. "Its just after eleven. Why rush?"

"Because the three of you have an entire manor to get settled into, and because avoiding it won't change a thing," Mr. Lovegood said, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. "Do you need my help with anything?"

"What?" she asked, frantically. "Aren't you coming with me?"

"No, love," he replied, his hand playfully stroking her cheek. "This is something that you, Landon and Draco are going to have to do without me. I'll see the house once you've settled in. Besides, I've got a date tonight so I'm going to go and find something sharp to wear."

"A date?" Luna and Draco shouted, not having expected to hear those words coming from his mouth so soon.

"Yes," Mr. Lovegood replied, proudly. "Draco and I had a chat a few nights ago and after thinking it over, I decided that he was right. It's far time I started dating. I've been single for far too long and if I wait much longer, it'll be too late."

"What did you say to him?" Luna shouted, angrily.

"We talked about this when I asked you to move in with me," he argued, trying to defend himself. "You said it was a good idea for him to start dating."

"That's when I didn't think he'd actually do it!"

"Well I have, Luna," her father interjected, calmly. "And I hope you'll understand why I feel the need to move on with my life."

"I do, Daddy. It's just unexpected," she assured him. "I hope you have a good time tonight."

"Me too," Draco said, glad that Luna's wrath was no longer directed at him. "You about ready to go?"

"Yeah," Luna said, kissing her father on the cheek before she and Draco went to get Landon's baby bag. Luna hated to admit it but she really didn't like the idea of her father dating. Actually, she had liked the idea of her father dating, she just wasn't fond of the reality of her father dating. The last thing she wanted was some witch coming into her life and trying to act like her Mommy.

"Do you want to take the train or apparate?" Draco asked, snapping Luna out of her silent pondering.

"I don't want anyone apparating with Landon until he's older, so we'll have to take the train," she reminded him. "Who do you think it is?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who do you think my Dad's got a date with?"

"Don't know. He didn't say," Draco said, tucking Landon's blankey into the baby bag before slinging it over his shoulder. "Where's his stroller?"

"In the foyer," Luna replied, handing Landon back over to Draco who stood with his arms outstretched waiting. As Luna had already said, Draco was a baby hog. The only time he would settle for not holding his son was when he was being nursed or if he himself was eating. "I can carry the bag."

"I got it," Draco said. The last thing he'd want was for someone to see him making her lug their bags around. If his Mum found out, she'd have his head on a pike. "Are you excited at all?"

"Yeah, I am actually," she replied, genuinely smiling at him. From what he'd described of the house earlier she couldn't wait to see how it had turned out.

"You're going to love your room." he assured her, as they walked down the stairs and headed for the foyer. "I saw it and I have to say, they did a wonderful job."

"Well, now I'm even more excited," Luna said, happily. As she walked out of the door of her childhood home, Luna turned back for one more look before gently shutting the door behind her. While walking down the drive towards the road that led away from her house, Luna couldn't help but wonder if the old saying, _'when one door closes another one opens'_ was true or not. If it wasn't, she was screwed.

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Luna wasn't exactly sure what had come over him, but Landon was in a terrible mood that afternoon. For the duration of the train ride, the infant simply refused to stop crying. Luckily, Draco had enough sense to place a silencing spell on their private compartment, otherwise the other occupants would have probably thrown a fit. Thankfully though, Draco's manor wasn't too far from Luna's house so they didn't have to endure Landon's fit for long.

As they got off of the train, Luna and Draco's ears ringing slightly, and settled Landon into his stroller, the boy chose then to stop crying. In the back of her mind, Luna had a nagging thought that the baby's change in moods was an omen. It was almost like he was trying to tell her something. Normally, she would assume that he was trying to tell her that he was hungry or that he needed to be changed, but both she and Draco had already tried all of that and Landon hadn't been interested in anything either of his parents had to offer.

It was such a beautiful afternoon and Draco would have preferred to walk home, but he wanted to get Landon home as soon as possible before he had the chance to start throwing another fit, so he decided to hail a carriage to take them instead. In just half an hour the trio arrived at the house and were greeted by a slew of people Luna didn't know. Nervously, Luna, with Landon cradled in her arms, exited the carriage and approached the house, Draco trailing a few steps behind her.

"Who are all of these people?" she whispered, turning to look back at him.

"Those are the decorators," he replied, nonchalantly as he rushed to catch up with her. "I thought they had left when I did earlier."

"Mr. Malfoy!" exclaimed a short pudgy witch, as she strode towards the approaching couple. "We were hoping to catch you before we left. Agatha McCoy," the witch said, extending her hand to Luna. Realizing that the young mother's hands were full, Agatha dropped her hand and ushered them all towards the estate. "Are you ready for the tour?"

"I've already taken the tour," Draco reminded her, rolling his eyes.

"But she hasn't," stated the head decorator.

"I'll give her the tour," the agitated wizard offered, resisting Agatha's attempt at forcing him inside of the house. Landon's constant screaming on the train had given Draco a terrible headache and he really didn't have the patience to deal with that woman's pushiness. "You can go now."

"Nonsense," Agatha said, ignoring his protests. "You haven't the expertise to show the young witch all of the details that have been added."

"I said you can go now," Draco ground out, glaring at the decorator angrily. Perhaps it was his fathers influence showing through, but Draco really hated it when people he was paying for a service didn't do as they were told.

"Well, if you're sure, Mr. Malfoy," Agatha replied, realizing just how serious the young wizard was.

"I'm sure," he spat, gently placing his hand on the small of Luna's back and guiding her towards the door. "Send me the bill." As the couple and their son entered the house the team of disgruntled decorators apparated away, many grumbling under their breath about Draco's treatment of them.

While Draco had been busy berating the decorator, Luna was given the opportunity to get a look at the outside of what was now to be her and Landon's new home. Luna had grown up in a rather large house herself, but it paled in comparison to the place Draco had bought. The estate was three stories tall and was situated at the top of a hill on four sprawling acres of lush grass. The perimeter of the land was surrounded by thick wooded areas which offered them a great deal of privacy. In the back of her mind, Luna wondered what on earth he would be doing that would require so much privacy, but she didn't allow it to overshadow her awe of the estate. Draco called the house a manor but to Luna, it was more like a castle. When she looked at it, she couldn't help but think of Hogwarts, though on a much smaller scale.

Once inside, Luna was relieved to find that Draco was right. The decorators had chosen a much lighter color scheme than one would have expected to see inside of so foreboding a structure. With the way they had styled the interior the house seemed welcoming and warm, not cold and fear inducing like she would have anticipated a Malfoy estate to be.

"I love the colors they chose," Luna said, softly as she exited the foyer and entered the sitting room which was filled with pale blue, silver, and white fabrics. Even the furniture, which was typically made of dark heavy woods, was made of light oak, and it added to the houses all around allure. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, it is," Draco agreed, ushering her towards the grand staircase. "I want you to see yours and Landon's rooms. They're up on the third floor." As quickly as she could, Luna hurried up the staircase with Draco following closely behind her. When she reached the third floor landing, Luna found that there were three doors. Unsure of where to go, she waited for Draco to tell her. "There are three suites up here; yours, mine and the nursery. Yours is on the right and mine is on the far left. The nursery is situated between them and each of our rooms has a door that leads into the nursery. Don't worry though, when Landon's older and doesn't want us barging into his room, he can move to one of the six other bedchambers."

"That's really clever," Luna said, smiling, "for our rooms to have a door that leads to his."

"Yeah, that was my idea," he said proudly. "Each room also has its own lavatory and enormous walk in closet. So you don't have to worry about my walking in on you while you're showering or anything."

"That's a relief," she muttered, the thought having crossed her mind on more than one occasion. "Can we go into the nursery?" Draco nodded and opened the middle door, leading Luna and Landon inside of the spacious chamber. Luna was floored when she saw what he had done. Though she wasn't sure how he had managed it, Draco had made sure that Landon's nursery remained mostly the same as it had been at her house, though it was much larger. The color scheme and murals that had been painted on the wall, were all exactly the same as the one's she'd had painted at Lovegood Manor. As much as she hated it, her eyes started to tear up and thoughts of actually settling down with Draco buzzed through her head. That would be twice already that morning that Draco had managed to make her start considering the possibility of him being something more than just a sperm donor. So far, things weren't looking very good for her plan of sitting him down and setting their relationship straight once and for all, because now, Luna was even more confused than ever.

"Do you like it?" Draco asked, nervous about her silence. He had taken a chance with not changing the nursery from her original plan at her own house, and now he was beginning to question his decision.

"It's perfect," she whispered, rising to her toes and kissing him on the cheek. As she pulled back, Luna couldn't help but notice the slight blush that crept across his pale face. _'Perhaps this could work,'_ Luna thought, unable to hold back a smile.

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	10. Nice To See You Again

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 10: Nice to See You Again**

Luna's first night in her new room had provided her with quite possibly the best night sleep she could ever recall having. Not only did Draco go out of his way to make sure that the decorators had made her room absolutely gorgeous and used the finest materials possible, but he'd also ensured that she would be most comfortable. And comfortable she was. So much so, that even after being awake for over an hour, Luna couldn't quite convince herself to actually get out of bed.

When Luna had entered her bedchamber for the very first time, her jaw nearly hit the floor. Draco had told her that she would love it, and he had been right. Pale, icy-blue brocade print wallpaper had been applied to the walls of Luna's bedchamber. The high ceiling was covered with multiple rectilinear recessed panels that were white washed, with just a bit of their original silver color showing through. The floors, along with all of the furniture, were crafted from light oak wood which complimented the bright and airy feel of her chambers. Her sitting area consisted of floor to ceiling, wall to wall bookshelves, lined with just about every book a girl could want; Luna was surprised to discover that Muggle literature had also been included with the works of various magical authors. The loveseat and two armchairs in her sitting area were antique, light oak fauteuils from the Louis XV period. The backrests and seats were upholstered in a soft white velvet, and silver, white and light blue pillows and throws were used as accents. Out of everything in the entire space, Luna's favorite thing was her bed. The enormous four poster featured ornate carvings and sheer white drapes all the way around. Her thick, down filled comforter was covered in a pale blue duvet that had matching cording around the edges. Numerous plush, down-filled pillows decorated her bed along with a white faux-fur throw. Draco had assured Luna, when she saw the throw, that it was not real and that he had specified that only animal friendly textiles be used in their home since he knew how much it would bother her if they didn't.

Figuring that Landon would be hell to deal with if she didn't feed him soon, Luna finally dragged herself out of the delightful comfort of her bed, playfully running her feet through the thick pile of the large white sherpa rug that was situated underneath. Instead of heading straight to the nursery, Luna decided to open the three sets of french doors that led out onto her enormous balcony that looked out onto the sprawling yard. The moment the doors were opened, the sheer white drapes were hit with the mornings breeze causing them to take flight. Luna couldn't believe the turn her life had suddenly taken. When Draco had found out about Landon, Luna was pretty sure that things would be completely ruined but it turned out that, for the first time in a long time, things were absolutely wonderful. Granted, her questionable sudo-relationship with Draco wasn't perfect, but even at its worst, it wasn't terrible.

After taking in the breathtaking view for several minutes, Luna wrapped her dressing gown around herself, so that her simple white babydoll nightgown was hidden from view, and went to Landon's nursery, making use of the door that led from her room to his. Once inside, Luna discovered that Landon was still asleep, which in and of itself was a miracle, as it was well after nine o'clock and he never slept past eight-thirty. As she gathered Landon into her arms, Luna also noticed that Draco had left the door that led from his room into the nursery open; most likely so that he could hear Landon were he to wake in the middle of the night. At the thought of the young fathers forethought, Luna couldn't help but smile. Peaking inside of his room, Luna found that Draco wasn't actually in his room. In desperate need of a cup of tea, Luna decided to head downstairs before nursing Landon.

As she entered the kitchen, the smell of burnt food assaulted her senses. The sight before her was quite possibly one of the funniest things she'd ever seen. Draco, who apparently was a novice in the kitchen, was attempting to prepare his own breakfast. Strewn across the counters were numerous botched omelettes and eggshells, what looked like an abandoned attempt at making hotcake's and a pan on the stove filled with raw bacon. The counters weren't the only thing covered in the remnants of his culinary prowess. He too was smeared with egg and batter, his usual pristine appearance a thing of the past. It appeared that Draco's in ability to cook was beginning to wear on his nerves, as he looked about ready to hex the hell out of his uncooked bacon.

"Problems?" Luna asked, trying to suppress a giggle. Draco turned and glared at her, before placing his hands on the counter and bowing his head, trying to control his temper.

"I've been trying to get this bacon to cook for the last hour and the bloody stuff is still cold," he hissed, poking at the strips of meat with the spatula. "It never took the house elves this long. I'll starve to death before the bloody stuff's ready." Walking over to him, Luna peaked over his shoulder.

"It helps it you turn the eye on," she replied, looking up at him innocently. Try as she might, she couldn't hold back her laughter at the look on his handsome face. She'd never seen one person so perplexed in her entire life. Leaning over, Luna turned the stove on and shortly thereafter the smell of frying bacon wafted through the kitchen. Instead of being grateful, as he should have been, Draco looked like he was about ready to kill someone. Taking pity on him, Luna ordered Draco to wash his hands and then handed him the baby. "What kind of eggs did you want?" Granted their were botched omelettes all over the counters, there was also what was probably scrambled eggs, but actually looked like egg mush, there too. So, she wasn't exactly sure what he'd decided on.

"I don't care," he grumbled, petulantly. "So long as its edible."

"How long have you been down here," she asked, as she began preparing his eggs and hotcake's while the bacon continued to cook.

"Two hours!" he exclaimed. "Dobby and the others had always made cooking look so easy. Hell, even your father seemed like a pro. But, I can assure you, its not."

"How did you make these _omelettes_ if you never turned the stove on?" she asked, staring at his culinary creation.

"I used a spell," he admitted. "Don't even try to eat it. It's awful."

"I wasn't going to," Luna assured him, as she removed the first two golden brown hotcake's from the pan before adding her seasonings and toppings to the omelettes. "Tomatoes and parsley?"

"Sounds delicious," he replied, bouncing Landon around in his arms as he paced the length of the kitchen. "We have got to get a house elf."

"Absolutely not," Luna replied, turning to face him with the spatula pointed at him threateningly. "I haven't had an elf and I don't intend on starting now."

"So, are you planning on making my food for me forever?" he asked, expecting no for an answer.

"If I have to, yes. Though, you're a big boy now and I think that you can do it yourself," she said, mockingly. "But if you won't learn how to feed yourself than, yes, I will make your meals for you. But I do expect you to learn to clean up after yourself."

"Yeah, what about cleaning the house and all of the other stuff the elves do?"

"I'll take care of that," she replied, nonchalantly. "There are simple charms that can placed on the house that will cause it to automatically clean itself." Draco hadn't seen that one coming. He didn't know what the big deal was, but it didn't seem like anything he could come up with would deter her from her position on the issue. "But that doesn't mean you get to be a slob. If you use a glass, you clean it. Don't leave it for someone else."

"So, is this what my life is going to be like from now on?" he asked, laughingly. "You say jump and I say how high?"

"Probably," she said, shrugging her shoulders. Truth be told, she knew that the answer was more along the lines of definitely, but why discourage the young man.

"Great," he grumbled. "It's the makings of a marriage, minus the sex. Can't wait!"

"Don't be a smart ass," Luna chided, setting his plate down at the breakfast counter before readying her own. Once they had both settled down into their seats, Draco handed the baby back over to Luna and began eating his breakfast as if her were starving half to death. Loosening her robe and unbuttoning the empire bust of her nightgown, Luna allowed Landon to nurse while, she too, ate her breakfast with her free hand. It took Draco a few bites before he figured out what was going on. Freaking out, he dropped his fork and quickly pushed out of his chair, causing quite a commotion.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked, startled by his actions. The look of embarrassment and disgust on his face clued her in on what had come over him.

"Can you put that away?" he asked, avoiding looking at her, a bright blush on his face. "I'm trying to eat here."

"So is your son," she reminded him, laughing softly. "Why does this bother you so much? It's a completely natural thing. Hell, your Mum nursed you."

"Great!" Draco snapped, hanging his head. "Now, I'll never be able to eat. Do me a favor, don't ever mention me having any sort of contact with my mother's breast ever again... especially when I'm trying to eat." Luna sighed loudly, making no move to stop Landon from enjoying his breakfast, or to leave. "Can't you do that somewhere else?'

"Yes, I can," she answered. "But I won't. You're just going to have to get used to this, Draco. He'll be nursing for quite some time and I'm not going to hide every time _your son_ needs to eat. Get. Over. It." Reluctantly, Draco sat back down, making sure to position his body so that he couldn't see her nursing the baby in his peripheral vision. After five minutes of having to eat with Draco's back to her, Luna decided enough was enough. Reaching over, she took his plate.

"I wasn't done yet," he barked, reaching to take it back but Luna wouldn't allow it.

"Look at me," Luna ordered. "Now!" Begrudgingly, Draco turned to face her, his eyes trained on her face for once, instead of her chest. "Look, okay, your being uncomfortable with the idea nursing used to funny, hell, it used to be convenient, but now, it's just annoying. Not to mention, immature. If you're old enough to be a father, than you're old enough to deal with any of the weird or uncomfortable stuff that comes along with it. If you can't deal with that than you need to let me know now, so I can get my son the hell away from you. I'll not have him being squeamish and petty over beautiful things like this just because his father is an immature prat."

"Fine," he replied, realizing that she was completely serious. "I'll work on it."

"No working on it," she barked. "Just get over it." Gently, forcing Landon away from her breast, Luna held the boy in front of his father. "This is Landon." His eyebrows shot up in confusion. "And this is one of my breast. I believe you've met before." Draco couldn't help but snicker at her words.

"Nice to see you again," he said, laughing. When he extended his hand to greet her breast, Luna slapped it away.

"And this, is your son using said breast for sustenance." Luna positioned Landon back against her chest, so that he could continue with his breakfast. "See, that's it. It's no big deal!" Draco peered down at his son, suddenly feeling a bit ridiculous about his previous behavior.

"Point taken," Draco replied, sliding his plate back over so that he could finish his breakfast. A few minutes later, Landon had finished his breakfast and had been burped, leaving Luna to enjoy her's while the boy lay in his bassinet, looking on. "Can I ask a question or two?"

"Sure," Luna replied, glad that he'd moved past his stage of being petrified, even if it meant she'd have to answer his, mostly like, annoying questions. "What do you want to know?"

"Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore," she answered. " It smarted at first, but eventually I got used to it."

"Are your breast going to stay that big?"

"Malfoy, you're hopeless," Luna laughed, gathering her and Draco's plates and placing them in the seat.

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For the most part, Luna and Draco settled into a bit of routine, one that worked quite well for both of them. The only downside to their arrangement was the lack of a house elf. Draco was quite insistent about their need for one, and Luna was absolutely against it. Draco was going out of his way to try to get it through her head that they needed to have one, but no matter what he threw at her, Luna wouldn't budge. But after three days of him trying her patience, Luna was about ready to skin him.

"Luna!" Draco shouted, as he lounged on the couch in the sitting room, reading. "Luna!"

"What?" she asked, worriedly, as she rushed into the room with Landon in her arms. With the way he was yelling for her, Luna thought that something was wrong.

"Can you bring me a glass of tea?" he asked, not even looking up from his book called 'Deadly Potions Every Wizard Ought to Know'.

"Have you lost your bloody mind!" Luna shouted, smacking him on the back of the head. "I thought something was wrong!"

"Something is wrong," he replied, rubbing the back of his head before smoothing his hair. "I'm parched."

"Get it yourself," she hissed, rocking Landon gently, her shouts having startled him.

"If we had a house elf, I wouldn't have to."

"Well, we don't. So get it yourself," she ground out before storming out of the room, leaving the still thirsty Draco alone.

"This sucks," he grumbled, standing and stomping towards the kitchen like a baby.

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AFTER A RATHER RIDICULOUS DAYDREAM I HAD AT WORK FRIDAY AFTERNOON, I'LL HAVE TO GO BACK AND ADD A CHAPTER THAT WILL GO BETWEEN THIS ONE AND THE NEXT. THIS WILL PROBABLY FORCE ME TO REVIEW ALL OF THE PRECEDING CHAPTERS AS WELL, BUT IF TURNS OUT ANYTHING LIKE WHAT I'VE GOT PLANNED, IT SHOULD BE PRETTY FUNNY. THIS CHANGE MAY DELAY THE NEXT CHAPTER BY A DAY OR TWO, BUT IT SHOULDN'T BE ANY LONGER THAN THAT.

UNTIL THEN, BYE AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY : )

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	11. She's Not Your Wife

**Happenstance **

**Chapter 11: She's Not Your Wife**

Draco had taken two weeks off when he and Luna decided to move in together, and after one week of living at Lovegood Estate, the pair were finally able to move into Draco's new house. This gave them one week to get used to their new living arrangement. Unfortunately, Draco had spent this time lying about, doing mostly nothing and demanding that Luna prepare his meals when and how he liked then, whilst absolutely refusing to clean up after himself. But Luna knew exactly what he was up to. There was no way that one person could be so unbelievingly obnoxious and lazy without trying. Draco Malfoy was trying to prove to Luna that they needed a house elf to attend to his every whim. Her knowledge of Draco's intentions to sway her decision didn't lessen his ability to grate her nerves, but it did give her the additional resolve she needed to avoid giving in.

After spending her days cleaning up the disasters that Draco had managed to make, Luna was in desperate need of an outlet for her stress. That was when she decided to return to a hobby she had long since abandoned. Painting. Towards the rear of the house was a room that had not been touched by the decorators. It had the most spectacular view of the entire house and Luna thought that it would make a perfect art room. After discussing it with Draco and him agreeing that she was more than welcome to use the room, Luna owled her father and asked him to watch Landon for a couple of hours since Draco already had plans to meet with his friends for lunch. Mr. Lovegood agreed, excited to see the baby, so once she had gathered up Landon's necessities, she took him over to her father's house so that she could go and get her art supplies.

While Luna shopped for paints and what not, Draco waited for Blaise and Goyle to meet him at their favorite restaurant for lunch. As usual, the pair were late, a habit of theirs that annoyed the always punctual Draco, to no end. Once they did arrive and their orders had been placed, the trio were able to catch up with one another, as they hadn't met up since Draco found out about Landon. In retrospect, Draco couldn't believe that it had only been two weeks since he'd discovered the existence of his child. It seemed like it had been ages. Both Goyle and Blaise had owled him when they read about their best friends surprise fatherhood on the front page of the Prophet. They were stunned to find out that Draco had bedded Luna Lovegood and hadn't even mentioned it. It was an unspoken rule within their circle, that you were required to shag and tell. In fact, Draco was the one responsible for their mandatory exploit sharing, so it was quite unexpected for him to ignore his own rule.

"Luna Lovegood!" Blaise exclaimed, suddenly, the topic of their conversation shifting from the latest Quidditch roster to Draco's new familial situation. "When the fuck did that happen?"

"Not that its any of your business, but the night before we left school," Draco informed them, nonchalantly. "And before you ask, I didn't tell you because it was her first time and I didn't think she'd appreciate that, and she'd had a really shitty day."

"Just about every other girl you shagged was a virgin before they crossed your path and it never stopped you from telling us about them," Blaise reminded him, just as their food was arriving.

"This time... I don't know, something was just different," Draco explained, hoping they'd understand.

"Draco Malfoy, I believe you're going soft," Goyle joked, tearing into his enormous steak. "But if you say its different than I'll take your word for it, even if I do think you're full of shit."

"So, what's it like?' Blaise asked, curiously. "Being a Dad and all?"

"It's bloody well fantastic," the new father enthused. "I always knew that I wanted to have kids. I mean, it's nott like it was for my Dad; I didn't think of it as my duty to the Malfoy line. I always wanted to be Daddy, not Father," he said, mocking the way Lucius had always made him say Father. Draco couldn't recall ever having been allowed to address his father as Dad or Daddy. Lucius didn't think it was a very masculine thing to say. That's probably one of the reason's why Draco had always wanted a daughter so badly. "I planned on waiting a while before I had kids, but now that I have one, I'm kind of glad that I didn't. I guess you could say Landon was a happy accident."

"Happenstance," Goyle said, unexpectedly.

"What?" Both Draco and Blaise asked, confused by his interjection.

"Happenstance," Goyle repeated. "A happy accident, coincidence."

"That's a big word for you," Blaise laughed.

"Shut up," Goyle said, rolling him eyes. "So, are you two getting married or something?"

"That remains to be seen," the blonde replied, picking at his roasted chicken. Greggory didn't know it, but he'd hit a bit of a sore spot. From day one, Draco had been willing to marry Luna and she'd turned him down the moment he'd mentioned it. "We're just living together right now. Otherwise, I'd only see Lanny a couple of times a week."

"You know what?" Blaise said. Draco could practically see the gears in the young mans head spinning as he, no doubt, hatched up some clever scheme. "Chicks dig babies. We could get so much ass if we took him out without his Mum. You think I could borrow him next weekend?" Apparently, Blaise was ignoring the fact that he was black and Landon was very white. In fact, between Luna's fair skin and Draco's fair skin, Landon was damn well near pasty.

"Sure," Draco said, shrugging his shoulder. "I'll just have to run that past my wife first."

"Your wife?" Blaise asked, a knowing smile on his face.

"My what?" Draco asked, confused. "You know I'm not married."

"But you just said you'd have to ask your wife?"

"I did not," Draco denied.

"Yes, you did," Blaise argued.

"You did, mate," Goyle agreed.

"I did not, you morons," Draco snapped, busying himself with eating his lunch. He knew damn well that he'd called Luna his wife but he wasn't about to admit that. Deciding to change the subject, Draco asked Blaise and Goyle what they thought of nursing. Granted, he'd finally stopped running from the room when Luna would try to feed Landon, he was still kind of uncomfortable with it.

"My Mum says it's a beautiful, natural thing that brings mother and child closer together," Blaise replied, a knowing smirk on his face. Blaise knew that Draco would more than likely be weirded out by the sight of his son nursing. He too had found it odd when his mother nursed his little sister, but after hearing his Mum go on and on about how wonderful it was, Blaise had gotten over it. "It's a unique bonding experience that father's will never know the joy of."

"Now you're just mocking me and I don't appreciate," Draco said, unable to control his laughter. "Its kind of weird to see him so familiar with her hidden bits. I mean, I'm familiar with them and that had a little something to do with his being conceived. So, its just odd."

"He's eating Malfoy," Goyle scoffed, not seeing how Draco was connecting nursing a baby to sex. "There's nothing sexual about it. And for you to make that association... well, let's just say it's gross."

"Isn't there any other way for him to eat?" Draco asked, unable to move past the awkwardness of it all.

"Yeah, of course," replied Blaise. "Muggles came up with this thing called a breast pump a long time ago. It draws the milk out of the breast and allows it to be bottled and consumed that way. Pretty ingenious, I must say. Oh, and they make this stuff called formula."

"What has Arithmancy got to do with anything?" Draco interjected, confused by the seeming change in subject.

"No, stupid," Blaise scoffed. "Formula is a powder that's mixed to create a sudo-breast milk. Next to the breast, it's best." Blaise couldn't help but laugh at his clever use of one of the manufactures slogans. "My Mum used both a breast pump and formula on top of nursing my sister. If she wasn't going to be around, she'd either use the pump or let my Dad know to use the formula."

"So, than she was able to stay away for hours at a time and not have to worry about the baby being hungry?" Draco asked, for clarification. Blaise nodded. This was perfect! Now, Draco could take Landon out of the house without having to worry about Luna complaining that the baby was going hungry. He'd wanted so badly to take Landon into work with him once his leave was over, so that he could flaunt him around the office and now, thanks to Blaise, he'd be able to. "Where can I get this stuff from?"

"Muggle stores have it?" Blaise replied. "They're really common items, so it won't be hard. Actually, we can go after lunch if you want."

"That would be great," Draco said, excitedly. "Do you mind, Goyle?" Greggory shook his head, too preoccupied with his lunch to care. As soon as the boys finished their lunches, they headed to Gringotts to exchange their money for Muggle money before venturing into Muggle London. After locating a directory, Draco and his friends headed for the metro so they could get to the 'Baby Super Depot'. Within half an hour they were there and Draco had to admit, it was definitely a super depot.

As they walked in the door, the boys were greeted by the sight of a huge warehouse style shop with large signs hanging from the ceiling, informing them of which aisle was which. After locating the nursing sign, Draco and the boys headed down the corresponding aisle and were instantly blown away by the enormous number of products. At one point, the boys came across what looked like a pair of strap-on breasts, meant to appear to the baby as if they were the mothers natural breasts. Unable to stop himself, Draco removed his black v-neck sweater and tried them on. Prancing up and down the aisle, Draco modeled the mock breast for his friends, sashaying his hips excessively. As Blaise, Draco and Goyle, practically died with laughter, Draco slipped his sweater back on over the breast.

"This is bloody well fantastic," Draco laughed, as he marveled at his protruding chest. As he continued to pace the aisle, occasionally lifting his shirt to flash Blaise and Goyle, a store attendant came over to see what all of the commotion was about. The poor girl, who couldn't be over seventeen years old, stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the attractive blonde man with a seemingly very full chest. "Can I help you?" Draco asked, awkwardly, upon realizing he had company. Blaise and Goyle were still unable to control their laughter, and stood off to the side as Draco addressed the attendant.

"Did you need help finding something, Sir?" she asked, obviously uncomfortable with what she saw.

"Yes, I was wondering about breast pumps," Draco stammered, leaning causally against the shelves with his hands fisted into his pockets and acting as if he didn't have a pair of breast underneath his sweater. "How do I know which one to get."

"Sir, your breast... those breast, they don't need a pump. That's part of the premise behind them. You just put the milk in and they take over from there," the attendant replied, nervously.

"No, not for these," Draco said, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it at the hysterically laughing Goyle and Blaise, so that he could remove the false breast. The young witches mouth was slightly opened as she gazed at Draco's well cared for physique. All those years of Quidditch training had certainly paid off and at that moment, even though she didn't have the slightest clue what Quidditch was, the young attendant was quite thankful for it. "It's for my wife, she's nursing and..."

"See, there," Blaise shouted, accusingly. "Did you hear that, he said 'my wife'!"

"Yeah, he did," she agreed, not understanding what he meant by it. Draco rolled his eyes, annoyed that he'd slipped up again.

"Whatever," Draco grumbled, changing the subject back to what was important. "Will that one fit her?" Draco gestured towards a nearby pump. Suddenly, something hit Draco in the head, obstructing his vision. Pulling the object off of his head, he realized that Goyle had just chucked his shirt at him.

"I don't think our little helper here can focus while your flaunting your manliness for all to see," Goyle joked, indicating the flustered look on the attendants face. Draco slipped his shirt on and waited for her to answer his question.

"Well, its pretty much one size fits all," she replied.

"So, if she's about this big," Draco said, placing his hands against his chest to mimic the approximate size of Luna's breast. "It'll fit her."

"Definitely," she replied, picking up one of the boxed pumps. "Is this all, or are you going to have a look around?"

"We're gonna shop around a bit," Blaise replied, pulling Draco away by the arm. Draco looked to Blaise, confused that they weren't ready to go. "You didn't think I was going to come here and not find a gift for the boy did you?"

"Come on, you know us better than that, Mate," Goyle agreed.

"I can set this up front for you so you can shop hands free. Anything specific you're looking for?" the attendant asked. When Draco shook his head, she turned and went back towards the front counter.

For nearly three hours, the boys went over the store with a fine toothed comb, making sure that they found everything little Landon could possibly ever want or ever need, and even a few things that he'd never want to go near. Draco had even gone so far as to pick up a potty training toilet, of which Landon wouldn't need for quite some time. After paying for their numerous purchases, Draco distracted the store attendant while the other two boys busied themselves with shrinking all of their purchases so that they could get them to the house. Once everything was ready, Draco said goodbye to the smitten young girl and headed out to meet the boys. Instead of taking the metro back, the three of them found an empty alleyway and apparated back to Draco's house.

When they arrived at the house, Draco found that neither Luna nor Landon were back yet, so after giving the boys a tour of his new home and sending them off with promises of bringing the baby by to see them soon, he began sorting through his purchases. When he was nearly half way through his sorting, the front door opened and Luna walked in pushing Landon in his stroller. At the sight of the all of the toys and various other baby items, Luna stopped mid step.

"What's all of this?" she asked, staring at the mess that was once her lounge.

"We went to this Muggle store called the Baby Super Depot and we found all of this awesome crap for Landon," Draco said, excitedly, standing and striding towards her. Leaning down, unthinkingly, he pressed his lips against hers before doing the same to Landon. Luna stared at him as if he'd lost his mind, but said nothing about his strange actions.

"You went to a Muggle store," she asked, unable to believe a Malfoy would ever do such a thing. Draco nodded, unashamedly. Luna made a mental note to never mention this event in the presence of Draco's family. She didn't doubt that Mr. Malfoy would throw a fit if he found out his son was in a Muggle establishment. "Why did you get all of this stuff? Landon's too young to hold his own head upright, let alone play with all of these toys."

"I know he's too young to use most of it, but when I saw it, I couldn't help myself," Draco said, enthusiastically. After picking Landon up out of his stroller, he returned to Luna's side, dragging her over towards all of the stuff he'd bought. Once she was seated on the couch, he handed her the baby and went to explain some of his purchases to her. "These are Chillable Gum Soothers. All you have to do is freeze them and let him knawe on them when he starts teething and it'll help to soothe his sore gums."

"That's really cool," she agreed, examining the donut sized rings closely. "What's this?" Luna picked up a nearby fuzzball and held it up for Draco to see.

"This is a Fluppet." Draco stuck the furry cat puppet on his hand and began making it dance and talk for Landon, earning him a big toothless grin. "His name is Bootsie the Cat." Pulling the cat puppet off of his hand, Draco then showed Landon an ivory bunny toy that had extremely long arms and legs. "This is Bunnyby. You know how kids often have a favorite toy that they take everywhere with them and it ends up a filthy mess?" Luna nodded. "Well, when I saw this I couldn't help but think that this could be his." '_There he goes again,'_ she thought. Once again, Draco was giving her that horribly delightful feeling in the pit of her stomach. At that moment, Luna swore to herself that the next time he did that, she'd hex him for it. "Now this, you're gonna love." Draco picked up a bright, colorful plush turtle and tickled its stomach. When he did this the turtle erupted in laughter, startling Luna who hadn't expected the toy to make noise.

"What the hell," she murmured.

"It's called a Hug-Me Turtle, and it says that the toys interactivity encourages the baby's sensory and emotional development. Plus, its soft and cuddly and he talks and giggles just like a person would if you were to tickle its tummy. It's like having a little friend. Oh, this," Draco said, pulling a pale green mass out of a bag and laying it out on the floor. "This is a Cuddly Cozy Floor Mat. It's a mat that has a turtle head and feet but its body is long and flat like a blanket. You can lay it out for him to lay on during his 'tummy time' or when you're changing him..."

"What's tummy time?" she asked, his entire statement going over her head.

"The crucial time a baby needs to spend on their tummy instead of on their back," he said, scoffing at her seeming ignorance. The truth was, Draco had actually just learned that twenty minutes prior, while skimming over one of the many parenting books he'd purchased, but she didn't need to know that. Gathering his stack of books, Draco handed them to Luna, informing her that she was welcome to look them over before he did.

For nearly an hour, Draco went on and on about the more than fifty items he'd purchased. Luna thought that his excited actions were quite cute and completely harmless. That is, until he pulled out a pair of pink footed coveralls that said 'My Heart Belongs to My Daddy'. Luna couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the undeniably girly garment. After handing the outfit to Luna, Draco removed yet another pink garment from a bag, this one was a sleeveless romper with a pink tulle tutu skirt.

"Draco, I'm not letting Landon wear that," Luna said, looking over both garments with a scrutinizing eye. "Their really cute but they're for girls, not boys."

"I know," Draco assured her, moving to sit next to Luna on the couch. "I just thought they were really cute and that when I do have a daughter, she'll look absolutely perfect in them."

"That's wonderful, Draco," Luna said, stroking his cheek sweetly. There was that damn feeling again, she cursed, silently hoping she could make good on her promise to hex him the next time he made her feel that way.

"So, you agree then?" he asked, receiving a perplexed look from Luna. "We can try for a girl?"

"Have you lost your fucking mind?" Luna asked, exasperated by his question. "Try for a girl! We didn't even _try _for a boy!"

"But you just said..."

"I said, that is was wonderful that you had plans for having another child. I didn't mean that I would be that child's mother," Luna argued, laying Landon down on the turtle floor mat that Draco had laid out earlier that evening. "Its been a week, Draco and your already getting the wrong idea about us. Hell, you even kissed me on the mouth when I got back. If you can't recognize the boundaries of this relationship than this isn't going to work."

"So, you're saying, and I'm asking you to be very careful about your answer because if you turn me down again, I'm done trying. But you're saying that there will never be anything between us?"

"We have a son together, so you and I will always have something between us," Luna said, choosing her words carefully, "but there won't be anything more than that."

"Are you sure?" he asked, sounding defeated. '_So much for showing her my moves,' _he thought. Luna was quiet for a long time before answering his question.

"I'm sure." Without warning, Draco leaned over and kissed her before whispering goodnight and heading up to his room, leaving a stunned Luna to sort through his numerous purchases. After laying Landon down and changing into her night clothes, she returned to the sitting room so she could go through the baby's new things and the painting supplies she had purchased that day.

Once everything had been put away, Luna turned to leave, but as she did, she spotted one last bag sitting on one of the end tables. Upon opening it, she found a single thick, brown, leather bound journal. Unwinding the leather ties that held it shut, Luna opened the journal and found a gold leafed inscription on the front inner cover that read, '_For whenever you're ready to start believing again, Love Draco and Landon'. _Luna could practically feel her heart breaking. Without even thinking about it, Luna rose and rushed upstairs, gently knocking on Draco's door. A few moments later, he opened it, revealing his freshly showered, pajama bottom clad self to her. Not even giving him the chance to speak, Luna rose to her tiptoes and kissed him, shutting his bedroom door behind her.

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MAYBE IT'S JUST ME, BUT I'M BEGINNING TO THINK THAT LUNA REALLY IS INDECISIVE ; )

FYI: IF YOU'VE SEEN 'MEET THE FOCKERS' STARRING BEN STILLER, THAN YOU'LL KNOW WHERE THE IDEA OF THE BREAST APPARATUS CAME FROM. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S A REAL INVENTION OR IF IT WAS JUST CREATED FOR THE MOVIE BUT EITHER WAY, I THINK THOSE THREE BOYS WOULD HAVE A REAL FIELD DAY WITH THEM.

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TO THE PERSON WHO ASKED HOW OLD I WAS, I AM TWENTY : )


	12. Everything We'll Never Be

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 12: Everything We'll Never Be**

Sunlight filtered through the cracks of Draco's windows, shining down on Luna's face causing her to wake. The moment her eyes fluttered open, she knew that something was different. Even after only having spent a few days in her knew room, Luna was well aware that she wasn't in her own chambers. As the chill hit her, the fire having gone out many hours earlier, she snuggled back down into the warmth of the covers. That was when she felt the distinct presence of what could only be the warmth of another person's body. As his arm wrapped around her waist pulling her up against his undeniably naked body, Luna silently cursed herself, suddenly recalling the events of the previous night. She couldn't figure out what it was about Draco that made her so impulsive. It seemed like whenever she was around him her entire thought process stalled and she acted upon her first impulse which, nine times out of ten, would end up with her in his bed and/or pregnant with his child.

Realizing that he was still asleep, thanks to the calm and even puffs of breath against her cheek, Luna tried to extricate herself from his grasp without waking him. Needless to say, it didn't work. The stupid prat had been awake the entire time, so when Luna tried to wiggle out of bed, he pinned her against him.

"Morning, Sunshine," he said, laughing as he nuzzled his nose against her hair. "Sleep well?"

"Could you let go?" she asked, sounding perturbed as she continued her attempts to wrench herself from his arms.

"What's the matter?" Draco asked. Even though he already knew the answer he needed to hear her say it.

"This shouldn't have happened," she replied, as she stood up, his sheet tightly wrapped around her body. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"So, you didn't mean for us to shag when you came up here, uninvited might I add, kissed me without provocation, and took my pants off?" Draco asked, snidely. The previous night when Luna had come up to his room he'd almost sent her away, knowing deep down that she didn't really want him, or at least she didn't know if she wanted him. But in the end, his rampant hormones, along with his denial, won out. "It seemed pretty intentional if you ask me."

"I didn't mean that I didn't know what I was doing when I came up here," she whispered, knowing that his meanness stemmed from being hurt. "I just meant that I shouldn't have come up here."

"Than why did you?" he asked, sounding just as hurt as he was.

"I found that journal you bought in one of the bags downstairs and I guess I just... I don't know, it sort of felt right."

"But it doesn't anymore, right?"

"It shouldn't have happened. But I had a fantastic time and..."

"You're absolutely right, Luna. It shouldn't have happened and it won't happen again," he snapped, standing and pulling on his boxers before walking over to his door and opening it. "I can't keep letting you get my hopes up and then crush them. Why you seem to think its okay to toy with another person's feelings like this, I'll never understand. I just hope Landon doesn't inherit that little trait of yours."

"Draco, don't be like this," Luna pleaded, not wanting her and her son's father to be bad terms.

"You're not giving me much of a choice," he replied. "Thanks for the son, but as far as I'm concerned, whatever you and I could have had is through. And that's a shame because I'm the best thing you could have ever hoped for. Some day you'll realize that and you'll be pretty pissed at yourself for mucking it up, but don't even think of coming crawling back because I'm not waiting around for you any longer... I'm done." Gesturing towards the door, Draco waited for Luna to leave before slamming the door behind her. The sound of the door slamming instantly woke Landon, who began screaming at the top of his tiny lungs. Quickly, Draco strode across the room towards the door that led to Landon's nursery. Once inside, he gathered his son into his arms and returned to his room, not wanting to run into the boy's mother just yet.

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All morning, Draco went to great lengths to avoid Luna but after calming down, he realized that they couldn't keep living like that, so he decided to call a truce. When he went to find Luna so that they could talk things through, Draco discovered that she was no where to be found. In fact, he couldn't recall having seen her since he kicked her out of his bedchambers earlier that morning. Taking a guess, Draco, with Landon resting against his chest, hurried down to the bottom level room where Luna had set up her painting room, hoping she might be down there. Just as he had expected, Luna was down there, only she wasn't painting like he would have thought she would be. Instead, she lay curled up on the settee crying. At first, Draco felt pretty bad that she was so upset, but after thinking about it, he realized that he didn't do anything wrong. She was the one who was toying with him, not the other way around; which in retrospect was a role reversal, as Draco was usually the one guilty of playing with girls' emotions. Steeling his resolve and vowing not to cave, Draco approached her. When he got halfway over to the settee, Landon decided to burp loudly and spit up on his father's shoulder which alerted Luna to their presence.

"Shit!" Luna swore, as she quickly wiped her eyes. "I forgot to feed him." Rushing over to Draco, she tried to take Landon but his father stopped her.

"I already fed him," he replied, flatly, rocking the boy gently.

"I fail to see how that's possible," she retorted, moving to take the baby again but Draco stopped her all the same.

"I bought some baby formula at the store yesterday, so I gave him that." Luna looked like she was getting ready to start asking questions, so Draco quickly continued, not really in the mood to explain it; especially since he didn't really know how. "Look Luna, I don't want us to fight and I don't want things to be tense between us either. Let's just agree that I've finally realized that there won't be a relationship between us, and call it what it is, instead of avoiding each other like the plague. I don't want Landon in that sort of environment and I'm sure you don't either."

"I don't," she whispered, the tears she had wiped away having returned.

"Why are you so upset anyway," he asked, sitting down on the settee. "If anyone should be crying their eyes out it should be me." Draco said, smirking at her playfully. "After all, you used me for a fantastic shag."

"I did not," she said, seriously, unwilling to play along with his little taunts.

"So, it wasn't fantastic," he said, fishing for compliments when he already knew the answer.

"Shut up," she whispered, trying to hide the smile that threatened to show but failing miserably. Seeing his chance, Draco stood and went to her, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders and drawing her against him.

"Friends?" he asked, after kissing her on the top of the head.

"Yes," she agreed, stepping back to a safe distance. It was becoming increasingly difficult to be around him. Every time she was, Luna was bombarded with these ridiculous feelings, all of which would lead directly to his bedchamber. "Look what came in the post today." Luna said, as she handed Draco an expensive looking black envelope. Instantly, he recognized it to be his father's stationary, the green wax seal with the Malfoy crest embossed in it giving it away. After handing Landon to his mother, Draco read the letter carefully.

"Leave it to my father to invite himself over for a house warming supper when we haven't even scheduled one," Draco said, tossing the note into the fireplace. "So, are we actually going to have this supper or do you want me to put him off?"

"As much as I'd love to avoid your father, that bit your Mum wrote made it seem like she was pretty desperate to see the baby. She's never done anything to me, so I don't want to make her suffer because your Dad's a dick. So, I'll just invite my Dad over too, and we can kill two birds with one stone."

"Alright," Draco agreed, taking Landon back from his Mum, ignoring the annoyed look on her face. Luna was really beginning to hate the fact that Draco seemingly refused to let anyone, other than himself, hold the baby, if he could avoid it. "By the way, my Dad is not a dick. He may act questionably from time to time, but he's not a dick." Though he said it jokingly, Draco really wasn't keen on Luna's insulting his father so freely. It went against everything he'd ever been taught in regards to familial pride and respecting your Pureblooded and non-blood traitor elders. The last thing he wanted was for Landon to pick up on his mother's animosity towards his grandfather. If he did, there was a pretty good chance that it would influence Landon's own opinion of Lucius and it may cause Landon to act in a similar manner. If that happened, Draco knew that his father would try to take the boy's discipline into his own hands which would then put Draco between a rock and a hard place. He'd be force to choose between his loyalty to his father and his loyalty to his son, and that was a decision he was not looking forward to making. Granted, Draco knew what his choice would always be, he still didn't like the idea of pissing his father off. Lucius Malfoy was not a man you'd want to cross.

"I don't see the difference," Luna replied, innocently. "Can you spend the day with Landon? I'll need to get to the market and prepare the meal, so I can't really watch him today."

"Absolutely," Draco replied, happily. "I wanted to take him to see Blaise and Goyle today anyway."

"I can't believe your father's only giving me a few hours notice to put something like this together. Who does that!" Luna snapped, as she wrote out the invitation to her own father and gave it to their owl.

"My Father does. Actually, I'm pretty sure he enjoys making people squirm like this," Draco said, laughing at his father's typical behavior as he bounced Landon around playfully

"That's disgusting," Luna huffed, indignantly.

"Oh, I got this thing yesterday called a breast pump that I want you to try out before you go. That way, you don't have to worry about him getting fed while you're out."

"A what?" she asked, not liking the way that sounded.

"It pumps the breast milk out of your boob and bottles it. That way, you can go about your business and Landon can still have breast milk. I'd rather him not have the formula all of the time. Granted, the Muggle's were pretty clever to come up with the stuff, but I don't trust that he won't sprout an extra arm or something if he takes in too much of it."

"You're going to have to explain this whole breast pump thing to me a bit more in depth," she said, skeptically, still not liking the idea of any sort of pump near her breast. As they returned to the upper level of the house so Draco could explain this new mechanism to her, Luna couldn't help but think about the turn her and Draco's relationship had taken. It was over. He'd finally come to terms with it and now whatever could have been, wouldn't be, and it was all her fault.

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	13. Reunion

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 13: Reunion**

Though she hated using the breast pump, Luna had to admit that it was a pretty ingenious invention, and since it meant that she would be able to be a bit more mobile, she agreed to use it. Personally, she couldn't believe that Draco had even brought the contraption home, it being a muggle device and all. But it seemed that the impossible had occurred; Draco Malfoy, the non-pureblood hating wizard, had changed. The more she thought about it, the more she started to regret her hasty dismissal of their relationship earlier that morning. The old Draco would never have forgiven her for using him the way that she had the night before. He'd have never stood a chance at controlling his anger, but for some reason, Draco had managed to stay calm and rational throughout the entire ordeal, never once raising his voice, and that made Luna want him all the more, though she'd never let him know it.

Since she needed to get ready to head to Diagon Alley to pick up the necessary supplies for that evenings gathering, Draco handled bathing Landon and keeping him occupied. While Luna showered, Draco and Landon hung out in her bedchamber, playing with the various toys that she kept in there. As she stepped out of her lavatory Luna nearly had a heart attack, not having expected to find Draco lying across her freshly made bed, haphazardly, with Landon at his side.

"Geesh, Draco," she said, breathlessly, pulling her floral silk dressing robe tightly around her body. "I didn't think you'd be in here."

"Oh, I'm just playing with Lanny," he replied, as he lifted up the baby's shirt and pressed his lips against his rounded tummy before blowing against Landon's soft skin, loud noises resonating through the room. Landon loved it when his father did that, his legs and arms flailing about happily. "I was thinking that instead of taking Lanny over to see Blaise and Goyle, I'd have them come by here. That alright with you?"

"It's your house Draco," she replied, entering her massive walk-in closet. "You don't need to ask for permission."

"First of all, this is our house, and secondly, I don't plan on doing anything in _our _home that you don't want done," Draco said, politely, as he gathered Landon into his arms and entered her closet. Just as Draco walked inside of her closet, Luna untied her robe, letting it fall to the floor. Luna hadn't heard him enter, so she continued gathering her clothes from their hangers and drawers, not caring that she wasn't dressed. "Uh, Luna," Draco said, clearing his throat so that she'd know that he was there. At the sound of his voice, Luna nearly fell on her bum as she stumbled into her knickers.

"What!" she exclaimed, pulling her robe back around her body tightly.

"Don't be so shy," Draco replied, laughing at her as she blushed at him. "It's not like I haven't seen it before, cause I have... and I've touched it, and..."

"Shut up," she ordered, her cheeks turning even more red than they had been. "What do you want?" Turning her back to him, Luna removed her robe again and pulled on a black cropped tube top before slipping into a white pointelle circle skirt that flared out, due to its fullness, and fell just below her knees.

"Where's the rest of your shirt?" he snapped, staring at her black tube top. Luna reached up and removed a fitted black jacket from its hanger and slipped it on, silently awaiting his approval. "That's a bit better, but don't you want to wear a whole shirt instead?"

"No, I'm quite happy with what I've chosen," she replied, secretly satisfied that he didn't like the idea of her showing much skin. "So, Blaise and Goyle are coming by here?" Luna asked, as she balanced herself against the wall so she could put her black stiletto slides on.

"Yes, I owled them not too long ago and told them to come by," he replied. "But if you don't want them here, I can tell them to wait for me and Lanny at Blaise's."

"As I said, it's your house," Luna replied, as she put on a multitude of necklaces and bangles. "It doesn't matter if I want them here or not. Just make sure that they watch their mouth's around Landon. I don't want his first word to be Mudblood."

"Will do," he replied, giving her a mock salute. "Father would love it if that was his first word though."

"I don't doubt that," she replied, grabbing her purse and putting on a pair of sunglasses. "I should be back in a couple of hours. I don't know what your parents like to eat, so do you have a minute to go over the menu?"

"Sure," he replied, following Luna as she left the closet and headed downstairs.

Deciding on what to make for their house warming supper proved easier said than done. On one hand, Luna was quite well versed in the culinary arts, and on the other hand, Draco had already demonstrated his inability to fry an egg. So, needless to say, it took Luna and Draco a bit longer than expected to actually piece together the menu. After about half an hour, they were finally set on their selections. The pair had decided on Crispy Zucchini sticks with Olive Dip, and Tomato Basil Bruschetta topped with Asiago cheese as appetizers. Cream of Broccoli Soup would then be served. The main course would consist of Fillet Mignon and Broiled Lobster tails with lime butter sauce, and roasted herb potatoes and roasted squash as the sides. Luna planned on preparing Raspberry Lemon Layer Cake as their desert and would serve it with tea and coffee. Since Luna didn't eat meat, she made sure to add her favorite vegetarian dish of Rigatoni with Eggplant and Dried Tomato Pesto to the menu, as well.

Shortly after discussing the menu, Luna was ready to head to Diagon Alley. Just as she was leaving, there was a knock at the door and she went to open it. She was greeted by the stunned faces of her former school mates, Blaise Zabini and Gregory Goyle. Once they had collected themselves, Blaise and Greg were finally able to speak.

"Loony," Blaise greeted her, breathlessly, as he stared at her. "Nice to see you again."

"It's Luna," Draco corrected, as he entered the room with a freshly changed Landon resting against his chest. "Don't call her that again."

"Right-o," Blaise said, his eyes never leaving Luna. "Motherhood has done your body good."

"Clever," she replied, side stepping the two boys, so she could leave. Just before she was out of the door, Draco called out to her.

"You're not wearing that to supper tonight, are you?" he asked, hopefully. The last thing he wanted was for his father to have an opportunity to upset Luna tonight and if she showed up wearing that, even though she looked unbelievable, Lucius would be sure to make her feel like a strumpet for it. "You look fantastic b..."

"I'll say," Goyle snickered, giving Blaise a high-five behind Draco's back and winking at Luna playfully.

"...but you don't want to dress so casually around my parents. You know how Father is, and I don't think Mother would approve much either."

"No, I'm not wearing this tonight," she assured him, rolling her eyes. Luna knew full well that she would be under a great deal of scrutiny that evening, since she would be in the presence of Draco's parents. Because of this, Luna had decided to go to one of her favorite boutiques and look for a new outfit to wear, even though she had a huge closet full of things that were more than suitable for the occasion. It was no secret that the Malfoy family concerned themselves a great deal with keeping up with appearances, and Luna didn't plan on giving them yet another reason to insult her, so she planned on looking absolutely fabulous that evening. "Can I go now? It's already one-thirty and I need to be back here before four in order to have enough time to cook and get ready."

"Yes, I'll see you in a bit, Love," Draco replied, leaning down and kissing her goodbye on the lips. Luna and Draco froze as their lips parted, both with startled looks on their faces.

"Shit," he said, laughingly. "Didn't mean to do that."

"That's fine," Luna assured him, walking out of the door.

"Ohhh, kissy, kissy," Blaise and Goyle laughed, making loud kissing noises at Draco, who stood before them with his cheeks blushing bright red. Taking Landon out of Draco's arms, Blaise began to sing, "Mommy and Daddy sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G. First comes love, then comes marriage, than comes a baby in the baby carriage... Well, you ruined that little plan, did you?"

"Funny," Draco grumbled, smacking Blaise on the back of the head after taking Landon away from him. "You want to hold him, Goyle?"

"Yep," Goyle replied, letting Draco put the tiny infant into his arms. "Geesh, he looks just like you. Your Father must be thrilled to have another clone of himself."

"I don't know how he feels about all of this," Draco replied, settling himself down on the couch while he watched Goyle pace the length of the room, Landon tucked away in his arms. "We haven't actually spoken since all of this happened. I've been so busy with Lanny and Luna that I haven't even bothered to owl them, which I'm sure I'll hear about from Mother tonight."

"You're meeting them tonight?" Blaise asked, as he stared over Goyle's shoulder at the baby, making faces at him.

"Yes. Father decided to invite himself over for a house warming dinner that Luna and I didn't know we were having," Draco said, laughing at his father's behavior. "Luna's trying to be all calm about it but I know she's freaking out. And with what happened last night, I'm sure she's just bloody well thrilled to have this on her plate."

"What happened last night?" Blaise and Goyle asked in unison, not missing a beat.

"She found that journal I had made for her and she got all emotional," Draco informed them. "And we shagged. It was unbelievable!"

"So, you're an item now?" Goyle asked, bouncing Landon around in his arms. "It's about time, don't you think?"

"No, we're not," Draco said, sadly. "The first thing she said this morning was, '_this shouldn't have happened'_"

"That must have been a shocker for the Slytherin Sex God!" Blaise laughed. It was about time someone burst the young playboy's bubble, he just hadn't expected it to be Loony Lovegood. "No one tells His Highness, no."

"I just don't get it," Draco said, slumping against the backrest of the couch. "When we're together, things are perfect. I mean they couldn't be any better. Everything feels just like you'd expect it to feel when you hear people talking about being in love and being made for each other. But then she opens her mouth and completely fucks it all up."

"Then it looks like you're going to have to either try harder or stop whining about not getting your way," Goyle advised his friend. "Doesn't look like this one's going to be easy."

"It would have been easier to stick with Pansy," Blaise replied, laughingly. "She wasn't as hot but she was _definitely_ easy."

"It doesn't matter anyway," Draco said, sounding defeated. "This morning when she told me that last night shouldn't have happened, I told her I was done playing her games and that things between us would be platonic from here on out."

"Then why did you kiss her before she left," Goyle asked, smiling down at Landon before saying in a mock baby voice, "He's so freakin' cute! Your Daddy's an ugly fuck, so I guess you're a looker cause of your Mum." Goyle couldn't stop himself from laughing at the offended look on Draco's face. Greg knew that Draco was well aware of how attractive he was, but that didn't mean he couldn't rag on him anyway.

"Gee, Thanks," Draco said, throwing one of Landon's stuffed animals at Goyle's head. "I don't know why I kissed her, to be honest with you. I can't say it's out of habit, because it's not. It just feels like the right thing to do."

"I don't know what to tell you, Mate," Blaise said, just as perplexed as Draco was. He'd never seen his best friend act so forlorn over a girl before. Needless to say, Draco's being at such a loss, over Luna Lovegood nonetheless, was more than just a bit confusing.

"I don't know either," Draco whispered, shaking his head. "I want her. There's no doubting that. I want her and I want Landon. Hell, I even want more babies with her. But she doesn't want that and she's made it quite clear that she never will."

"I don't think that's it," Blaise replied, skeptically. "I don't think she knows what she wants. She's torn between wanting you and not wanting you. "

"What makes you so sure?" Draco asked, hopefully.

"She doesn't seem the sort to be malicious enough to toy with you, so her flip-flopping back and forth is because she's confused. Maybe her minds saying one thing and her hearts saying another. You've got one hell of a reputation, Draco. Her minds got to be sending up red flags, but her heart must be telling her something different. I imagine that every time she looks at that baby her heart starts racing and all the while her brains saying, _'runaway, runaway, he's a bad bad man'_,"

"Either way, the only thing left for me to do is move on," Draco said, solemnly. "If I keep wasting my time waiting for her to make up her mind, I'll end up wasting my life away and that's something I'm not willing to do."

"You could always do what I told you to do last time we spoke about this," Blaise said, cockily. Draco gave him an unsure look, so he elaborated. "Make her jealous. I guarantee that if you brought another witch home, Luna would be so beside herself with jealousy that you'd only have to sneeze in her direction before she'd agree to marry you, have twenty of your babies and play whatever kinky little game it is that gets you off."

"I'm not going to play mind games with her," Draco said, shaking his head, wearily. "I'm just moving on. I'm going to have to find someone else who actually wants to be with me. It's not like it'll be hard."

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It had been nearly an hour and Luna had managed to gather all of the supplies she would need to prepare their supper. The only trouble she'd had was when she stopped by 'Josephine's Luxury Apparel'. Luna had planned on finding a new outfit to wear that night in order to impress Draco's parents. Why she was going to so much trouble, she didn't know. After all, she hated everything the Malfoy family stood for. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that she didn't care what Lucius and Narcissa thought of her, Luna couldn't squelch the desire to make a good impression. So, instead of heading home and picking out something to wear from her closet, Luna tirelessly searched 'Josephine's', hoping to find the perfect outfit.

Once she had found a few selections, Luna headed towards the dressing room. After trying all twenty of her picks on, Luna decided that, though she wanted and planned on buying all of them, none of them were quite right for that evenings event. Not one to give up, Luna gave her beautiful dresses to the boutique owner so that she could write up an invoice, and then continued perusing the store for her perfect dress. As she was looking through the gowns that were positioned right next to the menswear section of the store, a beautiful tangerine colored dress caught her eye. The dress was made of a stretchy fabric that had a matching sheer mesh overlay that moved with the gown. Finding her size, Luna headed towards the dressing room to make sure that it looked good on her. Stepping out of the stall, Luna called for one of the attendants so that she could get their opinion of the gown.

"So, do you like it?" Luna asked, standing on the podium and staring at her reflection. The dress fit Luna perfectly, it seemed like a second skin... a bright orange second skin. Luna's gown featured cap sleeves and a low scooped neckline that led into a tightly fitted bodice. The skirt of the dress was very fitted through the hips and thighs but it flared out at the knees into a fishtail hemline, complete with a short train.

"My dear, I have seen that gown on many witches and I must say that when I designed it, this was exactly how I pictured it. It looks like it was made for you," the owner replied, smoothing the gown over Luna's hips as she gazed at her creation. "Not many people can pull this color off, but with your fair hair and skin tone, it looks fabulous."

"I'm having a house warming supper this evening with my husbands family," Luna said, turning and checking her reflection from several different angles. "Do you think this is appropriate?"

"I wasn't aware that you and Mr. Malfoy were married already," Josephine said, a knowing smirk on her face. "In fact, I don't recall reading about an engagement either."

"We're not married or engaged," Luna said, waving off what the boutique owner had insinuated. "Draco and I are just friends, who happen to live together and have a child together." Even as she said it, Luna knew how strange it sounded. No matter how simple she tried to make it sound, her and Draco's relationship and living situation was anything but.

"Than why did you call him your husband?"

"I didn't," Luna argued, annoyed by the accusation.

"Yes, you did," Josephine argued. She'd heard the young witch say it and she wasn't about to say otherwise, even if it did cost her the sale.

"No, I didn't," Luna said, stamping her foot like a petulant child.

"Yes, you did, Luna," a familiar voice said, playfully.

"Neville!" Luna exclaimed, climbing down from the podium and wrapping her arms around her friends neck. It had been ages since she'd seen him. Neville Longbottom had been the only person Luna could think of who'd never once insulted or made fun of her. When he'd heard that she hadn't returned to Hogwarts, via Ginny Weasley, he'd written her a long letter and offered her his support in her decision. He told her that he knew what it was like to be different from everyone else and to be the butt of their peers jokes; to be laughed at by those who claimed to be your friends. Neville told Luna that no matter what happened, if she ever needed a friend, he'd be there, all she needed to do was let him know. He'd even offered to help her start her research over again. When Luna gave birth to Landon, Neville happened to be at St. Mungo's visiting his parents. Neville loved babies, so whenever he was at the hospital he always made sure stop by the baby viewing area for a few minutes. That day when he went to visit the newborns, he found his old friend staring through the viewing window, dressed in hospital robes. Neville assumed that she was in the hospital for something other than having given birth and, much like himself, she just couldn't resist taking a peek at the babies. When Luna pointed out her son to him, his jaw nearly hit the floor. Having noticed that there wasn't a ring on her finger, he decided against questioning her about the child's father, not wanting to upset her. Upon returning home, Luna was greeted by a huge teddy bear and a basket filled with clothes and various other products for a baby boy, including Landon's favorite blankey; a bit of information that Luna didn't plan on sharing with Draco anytime soon.

"How have you been?" Neville asked, returning her embrace enthusiastically. "You look wonderful."

"Thanks, so do you," Luna replied, pulling away from him but still holding both of his hands tightly in her own. Luna wasn't lying when she said that Neville looked good. It would seem that this was yet another thing the pair had in common; both were late bloomers. Neville's once gapped and awkward teeth had been tended to and were now straight and pearly white. He'd also grown several inches taller and put on some muscle, so he was no longer that awkward scrawny teen he'd always been. All in all, Luna had to admit, she was actually attracted to him. "So, I read in the Prophet that you're one of the Wizarding World's up and coming herbologists. I believe congratulations are in order."

"Thanks," Neville said, blushing furiously. "I've been working pretty hard trying to gain some notoriety in the field and it's starting to take hold. I hear your father is going to hand over editorial duties and, eventually, ownership of the Quibbler to you soon. Are you excited?"

"Yes," Luna said, excitedly, still holding his hands tightly in her own. "All I've ever really wanted was to be a writer and now I'll finally get my chance. I'm pretty sure I'm going to take the paper in another direction, though. I plan on giving the Prophet a run for its money. There won't be any of those ridiculous column's like Rita Skeeter's or articles like ,_'The Top Ten Hottest Wizards and Witches'_, in my paper. No, I'm going to focus on the stories that really matter, the stories that actually hold some merit."

"What about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?" Neville asked. He didn't understand why Luna had plans to change the Quibbler so much. She'd always loved to read the article's in her father's paper, so why she'd make so many modifications, he didn't know. "Don't you still care about proving that they're real?"

"Of course, but at some point you've got to stop wasting so much time and move on," Luna replied, sounding a bit sad. "I know they're real and when they're ready for everyone else to know, I'm sure they'll make an appearance. Until then, I've got to start focusing my attention on the issues that really matter. There are things going on in our world that need to be stopped, and people who are still running around free of punishment for their involvement with the Dark Lord and I plan on seeing to it that they get what they deserve. I'll not have my son growing up in a world where the criminals are allowed to roam freely." Neville had to admit, Luna was a changed witch. Not only did she look different, but she acted different, sounded different. Luna was no longer a young girl with childish ideas and concerns, but a woman, a mother, who had people she needed to look out for. And all of this was made obvious by her convictions.

"Speaking of Landon, how is he?" Neville asked, disentangling his fingers from hers and cupping her face in his hands, sweetly.

"He's wonderful," she replied, happily, glad that he'd changed the subject. "He's grown so much in the last three months, you'd hardly recognize him."

"You seem happy," Neville said, suddenly. The last time he'd seen her, Neville could see that something was weighing heavily on her and he was glad to know that, whatever it was, she'd been relieved of it.

"I am," Luna assured him. "I didn't think that being a mother would be so fulfilling, but Lanny just makes me so happy. No matter how upset I am, all I have to do is look at him and I'm just so... elated."

"Draco Malfoy?" he asked, sounding completely at a loss. Not once had Luna ever even hinted at wanting anything to do with that boy, so when he read the article that revealed Draco Malfoy was the father of Luna's son, he was floored. "Didn't see that one coming."

"Neither did I," she replied, staring at a random spot on the wall behind Neville. "He's not the same person he was before. Don't get me wrong, I certainly haven't forgiven him for the way he treated me all those years. But after what Snape did, he was so sweet and kind to me. And Landon adores him. Every time he sees his Daddy his pudgy little arms and leg's just start flailing. You should see it, it's so cute."

"I'd like to," Neville replied, genuinely wanting to see the baby again. "So, are you and Malfoy a thing? You did call him your husband a few minutes ago."

"No, we're not," Luna assured Neville, moving to peruse the many expensive hair combs in hopes of finding the perfect pair to wear with her new gown. "Things have been pretty complicated between us lately. He wants more, or at least he did, and I haven't been willing to go there." Luna intentionally omitted the part about her having slept with him; lying and telling herself that it wasn't an important detail. "But I'm pretty sure that he's gotten the message. If you want to see Landon, you're more than welcome to."

"How about his mother?" Neville asked, shyly. "Is it alright if I see his mother?"

"Of course, it's alright..." after processing it, Luna understood what he meant. "Neville Longbottom, are you asking me out?"

"Are you accepting?"

"If you're asking, than yes," Luna said, looking up at the much taller boy, a coy smile on her lips.

"Than I'm definitely asking."

"And I'm definitely accepting."

"Tuesday night, the Ministry is having some ball in recognition of His Holiness, Harry Potter's, bravery in facing the Dark Lord..."

"Again?"

"Again," he said, nodding. "Unfortunately, I can't get out of attending and I imagine that your company would only prove to make it much more enjoyable. Do you mind going with me?"

"I'd love to." Luna wrapped her arms around Neville's neck, excitedly. "I'll get Draco to watch Lanny."

"He won't mind?"

"No, Draco love's spending time with Landon. He'll probably be thrilled to have some alone time with his son."

"Alright then," Neville said, sounding excited. "I'll owl you your invitation so you know the details of the ball, but I'll pick you up at seven, okay?"

"Sound's wonderful," Luna agreed, kissing Neville on the cheek before he turned and gathered his purchases from the counter. "I'll see you Tuesday."

"See you Tuesday."

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Unfortunately, just as this one was, this weeks updates will be few and far between. I'm training a new employee at work and, being the sorry office manager that I am (what can I say, I'm twenty and have the attention span of a goldfish), that's where I tend to write most of this story. But I'm on vacation all next week so I'll be able to do a lot of writing then. Hope you like this chapters little twist.

Don't worry, Draco will have his retribution : )

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	14. Family Reunion

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 14: Family Reunion**

After removing her dress and paying for her purchases, Luna headed home so that she could start preparing supper. When she entered the house, she was surprised to find that it was absolutely silent. Luna had assumed that Draco and his friends would have managed to make a mess of things, but they hadn't. Instead, the trio and Landon were no where to be found. Assuming that they went outside, Luna hurried to the kitchen and began working on the food.

Just as the clock chimed six, Luna was finally at a point were everything was pretty much self sufficient and she could go and get herself ready for the party. As she was making her way to the staircase, the front door opened and Draco, with a sleeping Landon tucked away in his stroller, entered the foyer.

"Hey," Luna said, uncharacteristically chipper due to her excitement over her run in with Neville. "Where were you guys?"

"We took Landon to Diagon Alley for a bit and then headed to the park," Draco explained, removing his jacket. Luna had to admit, even the few hours she had spent away from Landon had been quite hard on her. She'd missed him so much. Gathering him into her arms, Luna placed light kisses on his forehead.

"He's out cold," she laughed, noting how Landon's eye lids didn't even flutter when she moved him. "You must have tuckered him out."

"Yeah, he was the center of attention, that's for sure," Draco said, recalling his afternoon out with Landon and the boys. "Blaise and Goyle found him quite useful."

"What do you mean?" Luna didn't like the sound of that. All of Draco's friends were rather well know for some of their less than savory behavior and Luna wasn't sure she wanted to know exactly what they'd been up to while she was away.

"Turns out babies are chick magnets," Draco said, laughing at the look on Luna's face. "They're evenings are pretty well booked for the next few weeks. Blaise actually managed to convince so poor witch that Landon was his child. She didn't even seem to notice that Blaise is black and Landon isn't."

"You used my son..."

"Our son," Draco corrected, heading towards the kitchen to get something to drink, Luna trailing behind him, prepared to nag.

"Our son," she amended, annoyed by his correction, "to pick up girls?"

"Yes, and it worked wonderfully, I might add," Draco said, smugly, as he playfully pinched her cheek. "It's not like they did him any harm, so there's no need to get your knickers in a twist."

"Couldn't you have just played peak-a-boo with him, instead of using him to get laid," Luna grumbled, swatting his hand away, as a small smile cracked the stern look she was trying to give him.

"_I_ didn't use him to get laid. My friends did, and if I'd thought for a moment that it would have any sort of affect on Lanny than I wouldn't have allowed it. Frankly, he loved the attention." Draco turned and left the kitchen, ice tea in hand, before returning upon realizing that he'd forgotten the baby. Luna had half a mind to not hand Landon over but since she only had an hour and a half before their guests arrived she opted to let him take the baby so she could shower.

"Whatever you say," she huffed, signaling the end of their playful squabble and handing Landon to his father. "Can you give him a bath and get him changed for the party while I shower?"

"That was my plan," he assured her, gently jostling the sleeping baby until he woke. This proved to be a mistake, as Landon started screaming bloody murder. "Somebody's a cranky-butt."

"Sounds like it," Luna laughed, jogging up the steps towards her room before calling down to Draco, "I'll be out in a few minutes and then I'll take him so that you can get ready!"

"Alright," Draco yelled back, his ears ringing slightly, thanks to Landon's bellowing.

It only took Luna half an hour to shower and put on her makeup, which left her plenty of time to finish up the last bits of preparation for their house warming supper. When Luna had emerged, freshly showered and clad in her silk dressing robe, Draco handed Landon to her and headed for his own lavatory, so that he too could shower. In what seemed like ten minutes, Draco was finished getting ready and had returned to the kitchen, where Luna was busy bustling about, trying to tend to both Landon and the food.

"Shhh, Lanny," Luna cooed, gathering him out of his bassinet and bouncing him gently. "Mommy's got to get supper finished and then she'll feed you." Landon ignored his mother's attempts at placating him and continued his extremely loud crying. "Calm down. You don't want your mean old grandmother and grandfather to see you like this, do you?"

"I don't think he cares, Love," Draco answered for Landon, as he removed his blazer. Luna had almost forgotten just how wonderful he looked in a suit, never mind an extremely expensive, perfectly tailored designer suit. Slowly, knowing full well that Luna was ogling him, Draco strode towards her, his arms outstretched to receive his son.

"Here, I'll take him so you can get things wrapped up," Draco offered, staring down at her with a sly smirk on his face, his body gently pressed up against hers, unnecessarily. For several moments Draco just stared down at her, with Landon quietly laying against his chest, while Luna returned his gaze, her lips slightly parted and her breathing labored. At that moment, Draco knew that Blaise had been right when he said that Luna was torn between wanting him and not wanting him. There was no way she could fake the sort of reaction he'd just brought on by merely standing next to her. Deciding to toy with her a bit, he asked, "You alright?"

"Yes," Luna stammered, after taking several moments to compose herself, "of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Not wanting to have to look at him any longer, for fear of the thoughts he might stir, Luna busied herself with setting the appetizers on their platters. Quietly, Draco came to stand behind her, his mouth barely an inch from her ear.

"You just seemed a bit bothered," he whispered, his breath coming out in gently puffs against her skin. Luna had elected to wear her hair in a fancy updo, which allowed Draco's breath to sweep across the bare skin of her neck. "I know you've got to be stressed out over this dinner, especially since your Dad's bringing his new girlfriend with him, but I don't want you to let it ruin your evening."

"I'm fine," Luna stammered, rushing to the other side of the kitchen, in hopes of getting away from him. _'He smells so good,'_ Luna thought, as she began inspecting the glasses for water spots. A few moments later, something he'd just said finally registered in her hormone addled mind. "What do you mean my father's bringing his girlfriend?"

"Did I forget to mention that earlier?" Draco asked, the smug smirk falling from his handsome face when he realized there was a good chance he was about to get yelled at. "Your father owled before the guys and I left, and said that he'd already made plans for the evening, but that if he was able to bring his girlfriend with him, he'd be able to come. Since you weren't here, I just owled him back and said that it was fine to bring her with him."

"Well, it's not fine," Luna huffed, slamming one of the very expensive Waterford crystal glasses down onto the marble counter; luckily, it didn't shatter. "The last thing I need to deal with tonight is his new toy!" Before their conversation had the chance to go any further, there was a knock at the front door. "Shit," Luna muttered, looking down at her dressing robe. "I'm not dressed yet. Can you get that, while I go get changed?"

"You mean you're not wearing that?" Draco asked, playfully, fiddling with the tie of her robe. "I thought you were going for that sexy, just got out of bed... and put my hair up in some fancy and incredibly complicated do,look." Luna couldn't hold back a smile. It seemed like Draco always managed to make her do that whenever she was down, even if she didn't want to.

"Get the door," Luna laughed, as she high-tailed it to her bedchamber.

Just as Draco was leading his mother and father into the sitting room, Luna, all dolled up in her new gown, strode down the staircase and went to meet them. When she saw how Narcissa and Lucius were dressed, Luna was glad that she had taken the initiative and purchased a new gown for their little get together. Narcissa, as always, looked absolutely fantastic and not nearly as old as she was. She didn't know how the forty year old witch managed to look no more than a day over thirty, but so that she could keep disliking Draco's mother, Luna convinced herself that whatever Narcissa did to maintain her youth, had to have something to do with the blood of babies. As the older witch removed her expensive outer robes, still unaware that the mother of her grandchild had entered the room, she commented on Draco's choice of decor.

"It's not what I would have done," Narcissa said, gently stroking her son's cheek as he took her and Lucius' robes, "but if you like it, and your dear girl likes it, than that's all that matters."

"She's not his dear girl," Lucius corrected, a sneer on his otherwise handsome face. Even Luna had to admit that, no matter how evil Lucius Malfoy was, he was still a gorgeous man; a trait that Draco had already shown that he'd inherited. "How many times do I have to remind you of that?"

"Ignore your father," Narcissa replied, excitedly holding out her arms so that she could take hold of her grandson. "Oh, would you look at him! He's just perfection... absolute perfection!" The moment the tiny infant was in her arms, Narcissa was in her own little world; one that didn't include her son or husband. This gave Draco a moment to chat with his father, an event that he most certainly wasn't looking forward to.

"Why did you take our robes?" Lucius asked, settling himself into one of the armchairs. "Where's your house elf?"

"Luna doesn't want one?" Draco replied, tensely. He'd known that this was coming. Draco didn't doubt for a second that his father would give him the what for, within moments of his arrival. That was one of the reasons, one of many reasons actually, that Draco had been avoiding him. "She's been handling everything herself and I think she's done a pretty fantastic job at it."

"Nice to hear the two of you are getting on so... domestically," Lucius said, snidely. "Do you make your own meals now, too?"

"No, she does it for me," Draco replied, rolling his eyes, already wishing the evening was over. "Be nice to her."

"Excuse me?" Lucius hissed, not liking the demanding tone in his son's voice. "You don't order me around, Draco. I will treat her however I damn well please."

"Do remember that this is my home and I'll not stand for my wife being mistreated... not even by you," Draco sneered. In that moment, he was sure that he'd never disliked his father more, and the tone in his voice, one that would put anything Lucius could muster to shame, showed it.

"I wasn't aware that you two had married?" Lucius asked, an amused look on his face. Inside, the older wizard was fuming. How dare that ungrateful prat speak to him in such a manner! No matter how angry Lucius was, he knew that if he went too far with Luna that evening, his son would personally see to it that he didn't return to their home for quite some time. Luckily, Draco didn't have time to answer his father, due to Luna's arrival. Even luckier for Draco, Luna had been too far away to hear him address her as if wife. If she had, Draco would be in for, what he liked to call, a nag-fest.

"Mr. Malfoy," Luna said, politely nodding towards their guests. "Mrs. Malfoy."

"Hello dear," Narcissa said, happily, standing to go and meet Luna as she entered the sitting room. Unexpectedly, the older witch hugged Luna as best she could while holding Landon, and kissed her on the cheek. "You look gorgeous! That dress looks unbelievable on you. I wish I'd gotten my figure back so quickly after having Draco."

"When do you expect that to actually happen?" Lucius asked his wife, snidely, not having risen from his seat. "It's been over eighteen years and I'm still waiting for your old self to make an appearance." Luna, Narcissa and Draco stared at Lucius, dumbfounded by his cruel words.

"Ignore him," Draco interjected, seeing the hurt look in his mothers eyes. "You both look amazing and you know it." When his mother turned away so that she could continue speaking with Luna, Draco glared at his father. The further the evening progressed, the less Draco liked his father. Just as everyone was getting settled; Narcissa and Luna on the couch fussing over Landon, who was just eating up all of the attention, and Draco and Lucius, glaring at each other from opposite ends of the room, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Draco offered, eager to get out of his father's presence; he could feel a headache starting to form already, thanks to the tension he was feeling. Luna knew that it had to be her father at the door, so she followed behind Draco, wanting to see who this mystery date could be. "You ready for this?" Draco asked, gently stroking her cheek as he stood in front of the door, his other hand resting on the handle.

"No," Luna admitted, smiling weakly. "Open the door." Leaning down, Draco pressed his lips against her forehead, before doing as she'd said. The sight before her made Luna's jaw drop.

"The bar maid!" she exclaimed, an incredulous look on her face. Draco, too, was quite stunned by what he saw.

"Luna," her father said, tersely. "This is Rosie. My girlfriend."

"Like hell she is!" Luna snapped, still unable to cope with this bit of news. Not wanting Luna and her father to fight, Draco ushered her towards one of the empty rooms nearby, while Mr. Lovegood and his girlfriend removed their robes and put them away. Before Draco even had the chance to shut the door behind them, Luna let loose her fury.

"Unacceptable!" she shouted. "Un-fucking-acceptable! I don't... but she's... No... Just no!"

"Now, don't hold back," Draco joked, receiving a deadly glare for it. '_It's official,'_ he thought, '_the night can't get any worse'_. "Don't you want your Dad to be happy?"

"Shut up!" Luna snapped, not even trying to answer his question or rationalize her behavior. "Madame Rosmerta?! Madame Rosmerta?! Not cool, Draco... not cool!"

"You can keep saying that all you want to, Love," he said, softly, wrapping his arms around her. "But it's not going to make their relationship go away. It's time for your Dad to make his decisions based on what he wants, not what you want; and you need to let him do it."

"But..."

"No buts," Draco said, more firmly this time. "You need to worry about Lanny and yourself, now. Not your Dad. Let him have his fun. Even if it is Madame Rosmerta." Draco was trying to cheer her up, but apparently his words had the opposite affect. Within moments, Luna was sobbing against the bare skin of his neck. "Love, its alright."

"She's nothing like my Mum!" Luna exclaimed, suddenly. "She's doesn't even look a thing like her."

"Why would she?"

"Why wouldn't she?" Luna asked, sadly.

"Why would she?" Draco repeated.

"Why wouldn't she!" Luna shouted, extricating herself from Draco's arms.

"Look, we could do this all night," Draco said, laughing at their childish responses. "She's not your Mum and she probably doesn't want to be your Mum. There's no way that your Dad could love Rosmerta as much as he loved her, so you haven't got a thing to worry about. He's not trying to replace her, Luna. He's just trying to move on with his life. Doesn't he deserve that?"

"I guess," Luna admitted, wiping her tears away. "You know, you're right. I forgot that I'd thought it was a good idea for him to start dating. It must just be the hormones." Luna muttered a refreshing charm to rid herself of the remnants of her fit.

"You are the wishy-washiest woman I've ever met!" Draco exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Hell, at least now I know you're not just like that with me, but with everything!"

"Now that's just rude," Luna said, laughing and returning to the sitting room where her father and Rosmerta had already joined Lucius and Narcissa. Upon entering the room, Luna and Draco found all four adults huddled together, staring down at Landon who lay in Lucius' arms. No sooner than they went to rejoin their guests, there was another knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Draco said, placing his hand on Luna's lower back and pushing her towards Madame Rosmerta, who looked like she wanted to speak to the younger witch. Once he was sure that Luna wasn't going to turn and run, or worse, hex her father's new girlfriend, Draco jogged to the front door. He didn't have the slightest idea who it could be, since everyone that he'd known was coming was already seated in the sitting room, ogling his son. Secretly, Draco hoped that it was Blaise and Goyle, coming to crash the party, but as he opened the door, he realized that his desire to end that evenings festivities was the last thing he should be concerned about.

"Oh... fuck me," Draco groaned, knowing that his having thought that the night couldn't possibly get any worse, had been proven wrong.

"I'll pass on that," the wizard said, nonchalantly, sidestepping the stunned blonde and entering the expansive foyer. "But thanks anyway."

"Professor Snape," Draco greeted, unable to believe that his former Head of House was standing in his foyer.

"Well, are you just going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to show me to the party?"

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SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG, BUT TRAINING THE NEW GIRL AT WORK WAS A PAIN.

GOOD NEWS IS, MY VACATION JUST STARTED, SO I SHOULD BE POSTING QUITE A FEW CHAPTERS THIS WEEK : )

I WONDER HOW MUCH TROUBLE SNAPE WILL CAUSE?

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	15. All Hell Breaks Loose

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 15: All Hell Breaks Loose**

It took Draco several moments to recover from the shock of finding Professor Snape standing in his foyer, but after a while, he was finally able to pick his jaw up off the floor and properly greet his guest. Draco knew that if his parents had seen how poor a host he'd just been, he'd never hear the end of it. Especially since they'd spent a small fortune on several years worth of etiquette classes for him. As Draco led Professor Snape to the sitting room where the others were waiting for him to return, he couldn't help but feel like he was quickly approaching his own demise. Draco knew that this could go one of two ways; either Luna would burst into hysterical tears the moments she laid eyes on Professor Snape, or she would let loose the anger she'd been holding in ever since he'd chucked all of her research into the fire. A small part of him wanted Luna to get angry. Draco had made no qualms about his dislike of her holding her anger in, and he suspected that venting her frustrations would only help to make things better, not only for her, but for him and Landon too.

Looking over to the man walking next to him, Draco couldn't help but get the feeling that Snape was excited to get things underway. He'd always know that his former Professor enjoyed terrorizing people, even if he was on the good side, which he'd proven during the final battle against the Dark Lord, but not even that knowledge could make Draco understand why Snape seemed to have it out for Luna. As they neared the sitting room, Draco was overwhelmed with the desire to hex the living hell out of Snape for not only chucking Luna's research into the fire, but for the lasting effects his actions had caused. Though it took a great deal of effort, Draco was able to reign in his anger and politely direct his guest to the party.

As Draco and Professor Snape entered the sitting room, he was greeted by the sight of everyone's back to him, as they all stared down at Landon who lay in Lucius' arms. Draco was shocked that Luna would have allowed Lucius to even touch Lanny, let alone actually let him hold the boy. Before Draco had the chance to alert everyone to his return, Snape beat him to it, by clearing his throat loudly. The unexpected noise made everyone's head turn towards the doorway in search of the person responsible for making it. The only person who didn't seem shocked by Snape's presence was Lucius, who sat rocking his grandson gently, a smug smirk on his face.

"Severus," Lucius said, a little too happily. "Glad you could make it." Standing, Lucius handed Landon to Narcissa and went to greet his longtime friend with a firm handshake. "I was beginning to think that you weren't going to be able to attend."

"It's been quite some time since I've seen Draco," Snape replied. "And I believe I'm one of the only people within a twenty mile radius who hasn't had the pleasure of meeting the newest Malfoy." Walking over to Narcissa, Severus leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before taking Landon away from her. When he did that, Draco was sure that Luna would had thrown a fit, but instead, she stood rooted to her spot with a blank look on her face; one that Draco couldn't read. "Luckily for the boy, he's taken on most of the Malfoy traits. He's quite handsome."

"Isn't he?' Narcissa said, proudly, playing with one of Landon's tiny hands while Snape held the boy. "He looks just like his Daddy did when he was a baby, doesn't he?"

"Most definitely," Snape agreed, looking from the baby to Draco and back down at the baby, as if he was inspecting them for similarities. "What's to happen to the boy's mother?

"The boy's name is Landon," Draco snapped, not liking the way his former professor was addressing his son. "And why would anything happen to Luna?"

"Ah, yes, I'd forgotten that Miss Lovegood was his mother" Snape said, softly. "Well, at least his parentage on his paternal side is worth while. Has she given up custody yet?"

"What?" Draco asked, dumbfounded by his words. "Why would she give up custody?"

"You mean to say that you're willing to share the boy with her?"

"His name is Landon," Draco said, through gritted teeth. "And Luna and I are quite happy with our familial situation. Landon is both of ours, and he always will be. And please stop talking about Luna as if she's not in the room. She's right there and can hear every word you say."

"Didn't see you there Miss Lovegood," Snape drawled, as he turned to look at Luna, who still stood exactly where she'd been when he'd entered the room. "Your son is _lucky_ to have so wonderful a father as young Mr. Malfoy. I can't imagine that, even in your wildest dreams, you would have expected so affluent a father for your spawn." Luna was speechless. In just a few seconds, Snape had managed to insult her in every way he possibly could, short of calling her fat. Since Luna wasn't going to stand up for herself, Draco took it upon himself to do so.

"You're wrong," Draco piped in. "I'm the one who should be grateful that a witch like Luna would want anything to do with me. Hopefully, her influence will overshadow some of the narrow-minded ideas that I'm sure Landon will happen upon at some point in his life." Quickly, Draco crossed the room and went to stand next to the eerily silent Luna. "You okay?" he whispered, leaning down to her ear so that no one else could hear him. Luna nodded, unconvincingly, seemingly unable to speak.

"When do you think supper will be ready?" Madame Rosmerta asked, trying her best to change the subject. Ever since Snape had entered the room, both Rosmerta and Luna's father had been completely silent. Luke wanted his daughter to have an opportunity to handle this situation on her own, even though his anger was well past its boiling point, but for some reason, she didn't seem too inclined to voice her displeasure. "Is there anything I can help you with, dear?" Luna shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving Snape as he cradled her son in his arms.

"Luna fixed everything just before you all got here, so we can eat now, if you'd like," Draco offered, gently taking Luna be her upper arm and leading her towards the dining room, where all of the food had already been set up and was under a warming charm. Making sure that they stayed several steps in front of everyone, Draco took a moment to make sure that Luna really was okay. "Why are you just letting Snape walk all over you?"

"I'm not," Luna whispered, so softly that Draco could barely hear her over the clicking of everyone's shoes against the floor. "I'm just not stupid enough to argue with him, especially since he's got your father in his corner. I wouldn't stand a chance against one of them, let alone both of them."

"Since when did that matter?" Draco laughed, recalling her previous inability to hold her tongue even when it was futile to argue. When Luna didn't answer, he began to worry even more. As everyone else seated themselves at the large dinner table, Draco led Luna into the preparation room that was just off of the dining room and closed the door behind them. "If it becomes too much, just let me know and I'll get rid of him, alright?" Luna nodded. "I'll get Landon from Snape and put him to bed, so that we can enjoy our supper. I gave him a bottle while you were in the shower, so he'll probably sleep a good five hours before he wants to eat again."

"Thanks," Luna said, smiling up at him weakly, her eyes filled with sadness. "For everything, not just this."

"It's been my pleasure," Draco replied, playfully, kissing her on the cheek. Instead of pulling away, Draco let his lips linger against the soft skin of her cheek, before slowly letting his mouth drift across her skin and rest against her lips. Inwardly, he berated himself. Draco knew that he was taking advantage of the situation by making a move while she was upset, but he didn't know how else to comfort her, and this had always worked in the past, so he figured, why not give it a shot? Much to his pleasure, Luna made no move to end their kiss, and in fact, did everything she could to prolong it. She too knew, that she had no business letting him kiss her, let alone kiss him back, but at that moment, Luna didn't care. All she knew was that she liked kissing Draco, and considering that the alternative was being forced to endure the company of quite a few people she really didn't like, Luna chose to go with what she enjoyed, rather than what would be considered right.

Apparently, Luna and Draco had lost track of time, neither making a move to part until they heard the sounds of approaching footsteps. Both jumped apart and quickly tried to hide any signs of their little tryst. When Rosmerta, who had Landon in her arms, entered the room and saw that both were flushed and breathing heavily, she did her best to pretend that she didn't know what had been going on, but both Draco and Luna knew that she did.

"Is there somewhere I can lay him down?' she asked, nicely, trying to suppress the small smile on her face. "I didn't see a bassinet or a crib in the room."

"I'll take him," Draco offered, picking the boy up and quickly heading out of the room.

"You alright, dear?' Rosie asked, gently stroking Luna's bare upper arm, comfortingly. "Your father told me what Snape did to your project and I imagine you must be in a terrible state having to dine with him."

"I'm fine," Luna answered, flatly. She was more than displeased by Rosmerta's attempt at comforting her but, deciding that one battle was more than enough for one night, Luna did her best to ignore it, and smiled at the older witch as she walked to the dining room.

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To say that their supper was tense and uncomfortable, would be putting it lightly. The only sounds that could be heard was the clanking of silverware against the porcelain plates and that of people chewing their food. When anyone did speak, which was rarely, their words were contrived and meant to spark up conversation, but no one took the bait. Several times, Lucius and Severus had found an opportunity to insult Luna, and made every attempt possible at exploiting it. Lucius was still stuck on the fact that Draco and Luna didn't have a house elf, so when they sat down to eat, he'd made it a point to put up a fuss over having to serve himself. Luna, trying to be a good hostess, stood to serve Lucius herself, but he waved her off and told her that he'd rather serve himself than have someone of her stature do it. Every time his father would say something like that, Draco would chide him warningly, but the younger wizards attempts at reprimand went either unnoticed or were just outright ignored.

To her credit, Luna took it in stride, and instead of flying off the handle and hexing Lucius, she remained poised and silent; a feat that did not go unnoticed by Narcissa. Manners and etiquette were a big deal to his mother, and Draco knew that she had to be impressed by the way that Luna was handling herself in so stressful and trying a situation. It was no secret to Narcissa that her husband could be a cruel and sadistic man, and she didn't doubt that his words were grating the poor witches resolve. The more she got to know that mother of her grandson, the more she liked the girl, even though Lucius had explicitly told her to remain distant and indifferent.

"Luna," Narcissa chirped, happily. "That supper was fantastic. For someone who doesn't eat meat you sure do know how to prepare fillet mignon perfectly. I don't think I've ever had so delicious a fillet, and I've eaten at some of the finest restaurants our world has to offer."

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," Luna replied, politely, genuinely glad that she'd enjoyed the meal.

"When I heard that you'd be preparing the food, I have to admit I was a bit wary, but after tasting it I must say that you are quite adept in the kitchen," said Narcissa, reaching over and patting Luna, who sat next to her, on the shoulder. "I'm glad to know that my boy won't be starving to death now that he's moved out. The boy couldn't even get himself a cup of tea without the assistance of one of our servants."

"It took some getting used to but Draco's gotten pretty good at sustaining himself," Luna said, smirking at the recollection of the mess he'd made while trying to make himself an omelet. Draco blushed, as the two witches poked fun at him, but deep down, he really was proud of the way he'd adapted to the lack of an elf to do everything for him. Granted, he would still prefer to have one, now he didn't see the necessity of having one and had decided to drop the issue.

"Supper really was wonderful," Luna's father whispered, smiling at his daughter, tentatively. Luke was having a really hard time handling being in the presence of the man who'd practically destroyed his daughter's outlook on life and had completely altered her personality. His daughter had always been a happy, optimistic and caring girl and ever since Snape's heinous act, she'd become a brooding, distrustful mess. "I've missed your cooking since you left."

"I should hope you missed _me_ and not just my cooking," Luna joked. For the second time that evening, Luna was able to breath easy. The fact that the two people who had given her those opportunities were her father, and oddly enough, Draco, the one person she'd been trying to remain distant from, did not fail to peak Luna's interest. "I missed you too, Daddy."

"Oh," Lucius said, sarcastically. "Isn't that sweet. She missed her Daddy."

"Father," Draco hissed, warningly. "Is that necessary?"

"What?" he asked, innocently. "She just said that she missed him. It's not like I made it up."

"You know exactly what I meant," Draco snapped, having grown tired of his father's antagonizing throughout the entire meal. As was his goal, Lucius had managed to turn what could have been an enjoyable evening, getting to know the woman in his life and mother of his child, into a torturous affair that everyone wished would end as soon as possible. Lucius scoffed at Draco's statement and busied himself with scrutinizing the decor of the dining room.

"The color palette is... interesting," Lucius said, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. Luna cast a quick clearing charm so that their plates and the remainder of the food would disappear and the table would be clean.

"I think its quite nice," Rosmerta argued, glancing around the bright and airy room. "Its a nice change from the dark brooding atmosphere of the pub, that's for sure."

"Thank you, Rosmerta," Draco replied, politely. "I really like it too. It feels more open... welcoming. Like a home ought to." Draco's words were straight to the point and both his mother and father knew exactly what he'd meant by them. His childhood home was dark and unwelcoming and his current abode was the exact opposite.

"Well Draco," Lucius hissed, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers as he glared down the table at his son. "It's like you're a whole new man. A few changes in your life and all of a sudden you think that you can just change what I spent eighteen years cultivating. Please. It doesn't work that way. You are and will always be exactly what I made you and nothing, no witch or child, will ever be able to change that. Do you understand me?"

"Perhaps you're right, Father," Draco said, a deadly glare in place. "But then again, you may not be. Maybe, just maybe, your claws weren't dug in deep enough to garner that sort of staying power. Lies are what you taught me. Hate is what you taught me. Bigotry is what you taught me. And in theory, you're right, maybe I always will be exactly the wizard you raised me to be, but in practice, you couldn't be more wrong. Next time, you may want to make sure that the person you're trying to convince, actually believes the shit you're feeding them. The fact that I didn't believe the things you taught me, means I've still got a shot at being a decent person... unlike you." Standing, Draco strode out of the room and headed for the kitchen, suddenly in need of a stiff drink. Just as he reached the liquor cabinet, his father barged into the kitchen to confront him.

"Where do you get off speaking to me like that," Lucius hissed. "I'm your father..."

"Damn right you are," Draco barked back, his face a few inches from his father's. "Which makes your behavior and way of raising me all the more reprehensible. So my question for you is, where do you get off speaking to me as you have for all of these years? Where's the father I was supposed to have, huh? I never had a father. I had a dictator. A tyrant who ruled with a stone fist. Who's main goal was to ensure that everyone was under his thumb at all times, even his own family. The only good thing I've ever learned from you was how _not_ to raise my own son. You were a _Father,_ and I plan on being a Daddy... A damn good one too." Draco had to admit venting all of the pent up anger and questions he'd always had in his heart, made him feel loads better. He knew that Luna had been right back at Hogwarts, when she said that he was angry all of the time, and he'd made every attempt to change that. Turns out, all he did was tell himself he was over it and bury his hurt and anger even deeper. Now that he'd voiced his objections, Draco felt like he'd been relieved of the heavy lead-like ball of anger that had been unknowingly nagging him for so long.

"You are an ungrateful little bastard," Lucius hissed, his hand gripped tightly around Draco's upper arm. This was something he'd grown used to enduring throughout his childhood, and Draco wasn't surprised that his father had resulted to such pedantic methods of discipline. It wasn't like he was ten years old any more! He was was a grown man, a grown man with many years of Quidditch training under his belt, and Draco didn't feel at all threated by his father anymore. Jerking his arm away, Draco turned to his father, making sure that they were eye to eye before he spoke, choosing his words carefully.

"If you ever put your hands on me again, I will personally see to it that you are unable to put your hands on anything ever again. Are we clear?"

"Are you really going to let that whore ruin our..." Before Lucius even had a chance to finish his sentence, Draco's fist connected with his father face, knocking him towards the ground. Wasting no time, Draco fell to his knees, straddling his father as he grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, drawing him closer to him.

"Take it back!" Draco ordered. The moment the word whore had left his father's lips, Draco lost it. He couldn't believe that after having warned him of his behavior, his father would still have the audacity to insult the mother of his child so freely. "Take it back," he repeated, when his father didn't answer. Before Draco could continue, a loud crashing noise came from the dining room, jolting him out of his enraged state. Worried that something was wrong, as he'd left Luna with Snape, Draco dashed out of the kitchen into the dining room. Upon entering, he found Luna, Rosmerta and Narcissa all huddled together on the far side of the room, as Mr. Lovegood straddled Severus Snape and repeatedly punched him. Draco couldn't help but noticed the similarity between their position and the one he had just been in. Snapping out of his reverie, Draco hurried over to Mr. Lovegood and pulled him off of Snape, who lay on the ground, his noise and lips bleeding profusely.

"You son of a bitch!" Luke shouted, trying to get out of Draco's grasp so that he could continue his assault on Professor Snape. "You narrow-minded son of a bitch! If you ever even sneeze in her direction again, I'll rip you heart out with my bare hands!"

"Calm down!" Draco shouted, trying to restore order. He didn't know what Severus had said to earn this sort of reaction from Luna's father, but he knew that it would have to be something pretty bad, since Mr. Lovegood was one of the calmest and most rational wizards he'd ever met. "Pull yourself together." He knew that he was being hypocritical, as he certainly hadn't been able to stop himself from decking his father, but he needed Luke to stop trying to get away so that he could get Snape out of the house as quickly as possible.

"I'll kill you!" Mr. Lovegood shouted, over and over again, as he continued fighting against Draco. "Let go of me, damn it!"

"Not until you calm down," Draco replied, using one arm to restrain Mr. Lovegood while the other fished his wand out of his robe. "Stupefy!" Instantly, Luke frozen and fell against Draco. Lying him down, Draco went to Snape and helped him up.

"Judging by your Father's reaction, I take it your research isn't going well?" Snape asked Luna, snidely, as blood continued to trail from his nose and busted lip. _'Shit,'_ Draco thought. _'He had to bring up her research.'_ Draco didn't doubt that the reason his father had invited Snape to the housewarming supper was so that he'd be able to further aggravate Luna. He didn't think that Snape would go so low as to bring up the research he'd ruined, but apparently he'd given his former mentor too much credit. Now he understood why Mr. Lovegood had flown off the handle.

"You need to go," Draco hissed, angrily. "Now."

"As you wish," Snape replied, offering Draco a mock bow before striding out of the room. Just as Snape disappeared, Lucius entered, his lip busted and his jaw already starting to bruise and swell.

"Narcissa," he said, grimacing due to his jaw being sore. "Get our robes."

"Lucius, what ha..."

"Get. Our. Robes. Now!" Without another word, Narcissa rushed towards the foyer and retrieved their robes from the closet they'd been placed in earlier that evening. "You'd better be glad that I can't revoke your inheritance after its been issued to you. If I could, that three-hundred million Galleons would be taken back immediately. So, consider yourself lucky." Turning on his heels, Lucius left the room, maintaining as much poise as someone who'd just been decked by his son could.

"Did you hit him?" Luna asked, astounded by the sight of Lucius' busted jaw.

"He deserved it." Draco argued, not wanting to go into detail about their confrontation. "We shouldn't have to worry about him anymore. I'm pretty sure that my Father and I are done."

"Draco," Luna whispered. "He's your father..."

"I know that," Draco scoffed. "But it doesn't make the things he says and does right. I won't be a part of that anymore. I don't want my family around all of his negativity. My son won't hate... I can't allow it."

"Draco..."

"I think I'm going to head up to bed," he said, quickly pressing his lips against Luna's and striding out of the room, a distant look on his face.

"Is he going to be alright?" Rosmerta asked.

"I don't know." Luna replied, turning back to her father and his girlfriend, her eyes filled with tears. "I think this might be all my fault, though." Luna's father wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly while she cried. Luna hated Lucius Malfoy with a passion, but she never wanted Draco to cut ties with him. She'd never wanted to drive a wedge between a family, and the more she thought about it, the more responsible she felt.

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FYI: I DIDN'T PULL THE THREE HUNDRED MILLION GALLEON FIGURE OUT OF NO WHERE. FORBES MAGAZINE DID A LIST OF THE RICHEST FICTIONAL CHARACTERS AND LUCIUS MALFOY WAS ON IT. THEY SAID THAT HE WAS WORTH ABOUT 900 MILLION. I FIGURED A THIRD OF HIS FORTUNE WAS A RESONABLE PORTION FOR DRACO TO INHERIT UPON COMING OF AGE.

I'VE GOT THE NEXT CHAPTER READY TO POST, I'VE JUST GOT TO DO ONE MORE READ THROUGH FOR PROOFREADING PURPOSES.

ALSO, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND REVIEWS. I'VE YET TO GET A BAD ONE. I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S BECAUSE EVERYONE WHO'S READING IT LIKES IT, OR IF ITS CAUSE EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T LIKE IT JUST HITS THE BACK BUTTON ON THEIR BROWSER. I'M HOPING ITS THE FIRST OF THE TWO REASONS : ) BUT EITHER WAY, YOU'RE ALL AWESOME

THANKS NIKKI : )

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	16. To Put It Simply, I Want You

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 16: To Put It Simply, I Want You**

Draco had hardly slept a wink all night. The confrontation between himself and his father had proven to be a bit of an obstacle. Draco knew that their going head to head was inevitable, but he hadn't expected it to result in physical violence. Wizards were supposed to be above that sort of thing, although he'd had plenty of physical altercations with Potter and Weasley while at Hogwarts, but the position on fighting was that magical kind didn't have any need for it due to their ability to use magic in its stead. All in all, why brawl when you can duel? No matter how hard he tried to rationalize his actions, Draco couldn't get around the fact that he'd hit his father. You couldn't disrespect him any more, even if you tried. The worst part about it was that, while he felt bad for hitting his father, Draco got a great deal of satisfaction out of it too. In that moment, he wasn't a wizard, he was a man. A man overcome by rage due to the wrongdoing of his loved one. Finally, he could understand what people meant when they said that, _'magical or not, we're all still human'_.

Just before the sun started to rise, Draco finally abandoned his tossing and turning, and decided to go for a jog. While at Hogwarts he developed the habit of taking jogs early in the morning while it was still cool. It served two purposes; one being the exercise it provided and the other being that it allowed him to clear his mind and sort through his thoughts. After pulling on a pair of black jogging pants and his running shoes, the shirtless Draco bounded down the stairs and headed for the kitchen for a bottle of water. As he entered the kitchen, Draco was surprised to find Luna seated at the breakfast counter, clad in her silk dressing gown, sipping a cup of tea and reading the Daily Prophet.

"You're up early," he said, softly, trying not to startle her.

"You too."

"You want to go for a run with me?"

"No," she said, laughingly. "I'll pass."

"Why are you up already?" Draco asked, retrieving his water from the fridge before settling himself on the stool next to her.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Me either," Draco replied, placing one of his hands on the back of her neck and gently massaging it. "Last night was pretty interesting, wasn't it?"

"A regular three ring circus," she muttered, shrugging his hand off of her neck before turning to face him. "Why did you hit your Dad?"

"He said something that was inappropriate." Draco didn't like where this was headed so he stood to leave.

"What did he say?" Luna knew that it had to have either been about her or Landon, she just needed to hear him say it. All night, she'd been ridden with guilt over having caused a rift between Draco and his father, and she'd hoped that he would tell her what it was exactly that had caused him to strike his father.

"Does it matter?" he asked pleadingly. He really didn't want to talk about it but he knew that if she was determined to find out, she would, even if it meant nagging him endlessly until he told her.

"Yes."

"He called you a whore," Draco said, grimacing. To her credit, Luna seemed unfazed by what his father had said, but that didn't mean he wanted her to know it had ever been said. Draco knew that he'd been Luna's first and only partner, so for someone to say something so false, and for that person to be his father no less, it made him angrier than he'd ever recalled having been in his entire life. "I just snapped. Where does he get off talking about people that way? He doesn't even know you."

"Which is why it doesn't bother me that he said I was a whore," she informed him. "I wish you hadn't fought with him because of me."

"As much as I care about you, you alone didn't cause last nights fight. It was a long time coming, so you don't need to feel bad. What he said about you was just the last straw. If my father can't accept you for who you are, than clearly he doesn't want to be a part of my life that much. I don't want my son around him and his crazy prejudices. They wreaked their havoc on me, but I won't let them corrupt Lanny."

"If you're so sure of what you did, why couldn't you sleep?" Luna asked.

"I was conflicted. I hit my father, which is a terrible thing to do, and I enjoyed it. But at the same time, he deserved it. I just had a lot to think about, that's all." Leaning over, Draco kissed Luna on the cheek before standing to leave.

"Oh, Draco," Luna called out to him. "Can you watch Landon Tuesday night?"

"Why?" he asked, playfully. "Got a hot date?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Luna replied. That was not the answer he'd been hoping for. They'd only just shagged two nights ago and she was already making plans to go out with other guys. Draco couldn't believe it. "I ran into Neville at Josephine's the other day..."

"Neville?" he asked, disbelievingly. "As in, Neville-I-couldn't-brew-a-decent-potion-to-save-my-life-Longbottom?"

"Yes," she confirmed, nodding as she smiled at him. "We used to be good friends at Hogwarts and when we ran into each other yesterday, he asked me to go to some Ministry Ball Tuesday night." For several long moments, Draco was silent. He just stood there staring at Luna with his mouth open slightly. "So, can you watch Lanny for me?"

"No." Draco replied, a plan formulating in his twisted mind. "I can't. I've already got plans."

"Where are you going?"

"The Ministry Ball. I'd completely forgotten about it until you just said something, so thanks for the reminder." Turning on his heels, Draco quickly left the room, a deep scowl on his handsome face. He tried his best to not appear jealous but he knew that he was. _'Neville Longbottom!' _he thought. _'Neville fucking Longbottom!'_

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Luna wasn't sure why, but things between her and Draco had been really tense ever since the morning they spoke before he went jogging. Naturally, Luna associated his seeming anger towards her with his altercation with his father at their housewarming supper. For some reason she hadn't even noticed that he had become agitated when she'd asked him to watch Landon when she went to the Ball with Neville, and not before then. Draco didn't mean to be so short with her, but ever since she'd mention she was going on a date, he'd been really angry. He had been the one to put the final nail in the proverbial coffin of their relationship when he told her that he was done playing her games, but knowing that didn't help matters in the least. So for three days, Draco either avoided Luna or snubbed her when they were together, all of which was part of his 'Master Plan'.

Since Draco was going to the Ball as well, Luna had asked her father to watch Lanny while they were away. Luckily, he never went to any of the Ministry functions, so he eagerly accepted the opportunity to spend some time with his grandson.

Just as he'd promised, Neville owled her the information for the ball so that she knew the dress code and any other specifics. Lucky for Luna, when she'd went to Josephine's the other day to find her dress for the housewarming supper, she'd also found quite a few other gowns that would work wonderfully for the formal Ministry event.

The last thing Luna wanted to do was celebrate his Lordship Harry Potter, but Neville wanted her there to keep him company, so she'd endure the boy-wonder worshipping for one evening. The closer the night of the ball came, the more excited Luna got. She'd tried several times to smooth things over with Draco but he'd always been unreceptive. Finally, she'd just given up trying to make amends for causing the rift between the two Malfoy men, figuring that he'd get over it when he was ready. As much as she would have liked to have enjoyed getting ready for the Ball with Draco, she knew that it wouldn't happen, so after dropping Landon off at her father's house, Luna returned home so that she could get ready. As she headed up stairs to shower, Luna realized that she hadn't seen Draco all day. The last time she'd seen him was the night before during supper, where she was forced to endure yet another wordless meal. Shrugging, Luna put her thoughts of Draco out of her mind and focused her attention on having a wonderful evening.

Just as she was giving herself the final once over, Luna heard the doorbell chime and raced downstairs to get it, her four inch stilettos doing their best to make it as difficult as possible. Upon opening the door, Luna was greeted by a tuxedo and dress robe clad Neville Longbottom. _'He cleans up nicely,'_ she thought, as she checked him out. Neville didn't really notice that Luna was sizing him up since he was busy doing much the same thing. He'd know that she was beautiful and that she looked amazing in fancy gowns, but this evening, unlike when she was at Josephine's shop, Luna was going for more of a sexpot look. The floor length gown that Luna had elected to wear was made of many layers of a bright red, floaty chiffon material. The three quarter sleeves and bodice were fitted and led into a very floaty and free flowing skirt that moved every which way when she walked, and also featured a short train. The waist of the gown was cinched in by a wide black velvet sash, and the neckline was off of the shoulders and led to sheer three-quarter length sleeves. To finish off her ensemble, Luna had chosen a pair of understated black four-inch stilettos and a black clutch, both of which were made of velvet. Instead of wearing her long hair in some complicated up-do, she curled it and let it fall down her back, using on two diamond and onyx encrusted hair combs to keep it out of her face. Neville couldn't believe how beautiful Luna looked. He was quite sure that he would be the envy of just about every guy at the Ball that night.

"You look gorgeous," Neville said, softly, leaning down and kissing his date on the cheek. He was glad that she wasn't like most other witches, who tended to pile on their make-up. Instead, Luna had kept it simple, only using a bit of foundation to make her skin appear flawless and enough eyeshadow and eyeliner to create a smoky look. The only other makeup she used was a light dusting of blush and some clear lipgloss.

"Thanks," Luna said, his compliment causing her to blush. "You look really good too."

"Well, I try," Neville replied, jokingly, turning and posing playfully. "You ready to go?" Luna nodded and grabbed her black floor length velvet coat. Neville took it out of her hands and helped her put it on. Once she was done, the pair set off for the Ministry Ball.

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Just as Neville had predicted, the Ministry Ball was quite boring. The first hour, while everyone was eating their supper, they were forced to endure several skits that a group of first years from Hogwarts had put together. Once the children were done, several of the most well known members of the magical community gave speeches in praise of the brave and noble Harry Potter. The entire time these skits and speeches took place, Luna and Neville whispered back and forth and made jokes, in an attempt to pass the time.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, the speeches and skits ended and the guests were able to move about and mingle as they pleased. Immediately, Neville and Luna headed to the dance floor, both having a well noted history of liking to dance. The young couple danced non-stop for the longest time, enjoying both fast and slow songs, and they were even able to partake in a classical waltz, of which most people elected to pass on. Since this was a Ministry event and the Ministry was always looking for ways to promote themselves, neither Luna nor Neville thought anything of the multiple photographers buzzing throughout the dance hall snapping their pictures, even though the bright flashes were quite annoying.

Several times throughout the night, Luna secretly scanned the room, looking for Draco, who had said that he would be attending the ball also. So far, she'd been unable to locate him. A part of her thought that he was lying when he said that he was coming to the ball, and that he only said it to get out of watching Landon. She thought that he probably assumed that if he wasn't able to watch Lanny than she'd stay home. Luckily for her, Luna's father was willing to watch the baby, so she didn't have to resort to canceling her evening out with Neville.

As the pair slow danced, Luna's head resting against Neville's shoulder, her mind wandered back to her thoughts of Draco. It was nearly eleven-thirty and the Ball would be over in less than an hour, Luna hadn't so much as caught a glimpse of anyone who remotely looked like him. Just thinking about it made Luna want to gouge his eyes out for lying to her. As she planned the tirade that she would force Draco to endure tomorrow morning, Luna felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

"May I cut in?" the familiar voice drawled. "You can dance with my date for a bit, if you'd like." Luna turned to see who it was. Part of her was bummed to find Draco there. She'd actually been looking forward to presenting her '_How dare you lie to me just to spoil my fun_' speech. It was really quite good; it flowed nicely and it would have certainly helped to make her look the part of a victim. But now that he'd made good on his word, she wouldn't be able to use it. Glaring at the intruder angrily, Neville stepped aside so that Draco could cut in. As much as he hated it, he wasn't about to start a fight right in front of the entire Ministry, and he certainly wasn't going to start a fight with Draco Malfoy, period. That would be a death wish. Instead, Neville allowed Draco and Luna to dance while danced with Draco's date, a scantily clad young witch who was wearing far too much make-up. The girl was pretty, she just wasn't beautiful, least of all naturally so.

"I didn't think you were going to show up," Luna said, several moments into their dance.

"You were looking for me?" Luna could hear the antagonizing tone in the wizards voice. "I didn't know you cared. I figured you would be so entranced by Mr. Longbottom and his stellar dance moves that you wouldn't be able to think about anything other than him."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Luna laughed, allowing Draco to spin her out and pull her back in, their bodies as close to one another as humanly possible. "So who's the girl?" Luna didn't like the girl the moment she saw her. Her breast were practically falling out of her too small dress- if that's what you could even call the napkin she'd elected to squeeze into- and she looked like she'd cake every drop of make-up she owned on her face.

"Her name's Stella," Draco whispered, his lips against her ear. "I think I'll marry her."

"Well congratulations," Luna replied, sarcastically. "I wish the both of you the best." Luna knew full well that Draco had no intention of marry that jezebel and she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that the thought of him marrying someone bothered her. Not that she was even admitting that it did bother her.

"Would it be okay if Lanny called her Mommy number two?" Luna's hand met his cheek before she could even realize what she was doing. She hadn't meant to hit him but he'd crossed a very delicate line. Luckily, the music was loud enough and the crowd was preoccupied enough that no one noticed their fight, if they had, it was sure to be plastered on the cover of the Prophet in the morning. As Luna tried to pull away, Draco held her tightly against him, not wanting her to go. "You asshole," she hissed, giving up her struggle to get out of his reach. "How dare you say that."

"Why does it bother you so much?" Draco asked, rubbing his red cheek with his free hand. She'd really popped him pretty hard, and he'd have a nice little welt in a few moments to prove it. "You don't want me, so why should you care?"

"I don't care who you shag but I do care who you allow our son to be around," Luna hissed, poking him in the chest, threateningly. "I'll not have him calling that skank 'Mommy number two'. Landon has _one_ Mommy and it's me. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Draco said, closing the few inches that remained between them. "But do remember that the same goes for whoever you decide to settle down with. Landon only has one Daddy and that's me."

"I already knew that," she hissed. "Unlike you, you insensitive son of a bitch, I would never dream of allowing anyone other than you to be addressed as Landon's father."

"Than we shouldn't have any problems," he assured her, placing her head back on his shoulder so that they could continue their dance. When he felt her relax against him, he grew a bit more bold, allowing his hand to slip down the small of her back and rest just above her rear. When she didn't object, Draco placed soft kisses on the bare skin of her neck, inhaling the comforting and familiar scent of her shampoo.

"What do you want?" Luna asked, suddenly, still making no move to get away from him. Draco couldn't believe that she, of all people, was asking him what he wanted. The real question was what did she want, not what did he want. He thought he'd made it pretty damn clear what he wanted. Guessing that she needed to hear it again, he decided to answer.

"It's really no secret, love," he said, placing his mouth against her ear so that he could make sure that every syllable of what he had to say got through to her. "To put it simply, I want you."

"Draco..."

"Why deny it," Draco asked, interrupting any objections she could make. "You want me just as badly as I want you. You miss our nights together just as much as I do. The feeling of our bare skin against each other, my lips against yours. Why deny yourself what you so obviously want?"

"I don't..."

"Please," he scoffed, not even wanting to listen to her lying about it any more. "You and I both know that's not true. You certainly wanted me the night of the housewarming supper. If Rosmerta hadn't walked in, I'd have taken you on the settee and you would've loved it." Luna wanted to object, but she knew that if she did she would be lying, and Luna Lovegood was not a liar, she was in denial, that's for sure, but not a liar. "Can't we just stop these games? Imagine the magic of being together, with all the time in the world to love each other the way we deserve to be loved."

"I can't," she whispered, not even believing it herself. Luna couldn't figure out why her brain seemed to turn to mush every time Draco laid his hands on her, but it did, and the consequences of her inability to have a complete thought while in his arms, were always steep and detrimental to whatever platonic relationship they'd managed to forge beforehand.

"Yes, you can and I know that you want to," Draco countered, gently running his finger up and down her spine. "I understand that you're confused. I know I have a reputation for being a bit of playboy, but ever since we've gotten together, it's been you. Just you, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I miss you. I miss the sound of your whimpering cries and moans..."

"Draco!" she shrieked, an embarrassed look on her furiously blushing face. "Inappropriate! Totally inappropriate!"

"No, it's not," Draco said, dismissing her refute. "It's beautiful and if you're willing to do it, you ought to be willing to talk about it."

"Well, I'm not willing to do it," Luna snapped. "So, I guess this is over. Fuck, this is a really long song!" It seemed like they'd been dancing to the same song forever. She wanted nothing more for the endless tune to end, so she could retrieve her date from the arms of that horrible skank and get on with her enjoyable date.

"You and I both know that we'll never be over," he assured her, allowing her to wiggle our of his reach. "You're always going to want me just as badly as you do right now, and I'm always going to want you. You see, you and me are one in the same. We're made for each other and the sooner you accept that, the sooner we can get on with our life together. Just so we're clear, persistence is one of my strong points, so you really haven't got much of a chance." Stepping away from her, Draco gave Luna a sly grin before whispering, "I was your first and I plan on being your only, so when Neville brings you home tonight, remember that. You can't undo things."

"Its only our first date," Luna said, not having even thought about bedding Neville.

"I realize that, but after the little talk we've just had and the dance we've just shared, I'm quite sure you're a bit... bothered," Seeing that she was getting ready to deny his accusation, Draco placed his finger against her lips. "Don't deny it, Love. You've got that look in your eyes. A look I'm quite familiar with." Leaning down, Draco brushed his lips against hers and left to retrieve his date.

Just as he'd hoped, Draco's little interference had caused Luna to be distracted for the remainder of the evening. Luckily, there was just over half an hour left, so it wasn't cause for her to call the entire night a bust. One thing was certain, Draco was right when he said that his little speech and dance had wound her a bit tight, but then again, he could make reciting the alphabet sound like an dirty novel.

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	17. That's Got To Be A Record

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 17: That's Got To Be A Record!**

Try as she might, Luna couldn't get Draco's words at the Ministry Ball out of her mind. Part of her knew that he was right; she did want him, quite badly in fact, but the rest of her was too busy trying to deny her attraction to him to listen to the part of her that had already accepted it. For the remainder of her date with Neville, Luna spent her time ignoring him and trying to sort through her jumbled thoughts. The only time she was able to snap out of her confused state was when he walked her to her door and leaned down to kiss her goodnight. Before leaving, Neville asked Luna to go out with him again, and she accepted. Luna figured that dating someone else was a pretty good way of getting the nagging thoughts about her current obsession out of her mind.

Now, if things were that easy, Luna's life would be perfect, but unfortunately, things weren't that simple. The only problem with Luna's plan of getting Draco out of her mind, by replacing him with Neville, was the fact that it didn't seem possible to get Draco off of her mind. He was like this permanent fixture that simply refused to leave her be. For nearly four weeks after her date with Neville, Luna's every thought was fixed on Draco, even during her and Neville's second date, not to mention all those thereafter. Luckily, Neville didn't really notice, so their relationship hadn't been too affected by it.

Ever since their first date, Neville and Luna had seen each other every other night. For the most part, the living, breathing Draco didn't interfere too much. Sometimes he'd even volunteer to watch Landon while she went on her date. If Draco couldn't watch him, than her father was always more than willing to do so. The first couple of times Draco didn't object to her going out with Neville again, Luna kind of felt bad. She'd expected him to flip his lid, but instead he remained calm and was even polite to Neville when he arrived to pick her up.

Luna wasn't aware of this, but every single thing that had happened since their date, had all been a part of Draco's master plan. The main objective of Draco's plan was to convince Luna that he was done pursuing her. Once that happened he would be able to move on to phase two, which involved Blaise's idea of making her jealous. To Draco, it seemed like he'd be stuck in phase one forever, but finally, after several long weeks, he was quite sure that she was convinced that he was happy for her and Neville, and he could now move on to the second part of his plan.

"You going out with Neville tonight?" he asked, as Luna sat his breakfast down in front of him. Their routine was the same every morning. First, they'd both get showered and ready for the day, and then they would eat breakfast together before waking Landon up and feeding him. Now that Draco was over his fear of breast feeding, he made it a point to sit next to Luna while she nursed Landon. In one of the many parenting books he'd purchased from the 'Baby Depot', it said that feeding time was one of the best times for a parent to bond with their child. Not wanting to miss out on forging a tighter bond with his son, Draco always stayed within the boys line of vision as he ate, even though it annoyed Luna to no end.

"Yes, I think we are," she replied, setting her plate down next to his and taking her seat. As usual, they were having omelette's, which were apparently Draco's favorite breakfast food.

"Is your Dad going to be able to watch Lanny?" Draco asked, before taking a bite of his omelet. "Cause I've got plans tonight, so I can't."

"Actually, my Dad's going to meet Rosmerta's parents tonight. I guess Neville and I could stay in."

"I'd appreciate it if you did. I haven't been out in a while," Draco said, hoping she'd be alright with keeping her date simple tonight.

"Not a problem. I'll just owl Neville and let him know."

"Thanks."

"Welcome."

The rest of their breakfast was ate in silence. Draco knew that Luna was trying to figure out what he had planned for that evening, so he didn't try to strike up any sort of conversation. It was no secret that Luna's imagination could get the best of her, so he knew that if he let her think about it for a while, eventually she'd come up with some outlandish idea and she'd worry herself senseless. This was exactly what Draco wanted to happen. He wanted Luna to spend her day trying to figure who or what was occupying his free time. She needed to do it, she owed him that much, seeing as how that's what he'd been doing every time she left with Neville. By the distant look in her eyes, Draco knew that his plan was working. He could practically see the gears in her head turning.

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The day breezed by faster than Luna would have liked. Normally she was excited for the evening to come so that she could go out with Neville, but this time, she was too busy trying to puzzle together who Draco was going out with, that she wasn't able to even think about her own date. As the clock chimed seven, Luna laid Landon down for bed and went downstairs to wait for Neville to arrive.

When the doorbell rang, Luna had assumed that it was Neville, but upon opening it she was shocked to find Cho Chang standing on her front steps. Luna didn't like Cho, she never had and probably never would, but she especially didn't like her now that she was going out with Draco. While Luna was busy glaring at Cho, who, she was glad to say, had gained a bit of weight since leaving school, Neville came bounding up the drive towards her.

"Is Draco here?" Cho asked, her heavy accent grating Luna's nerves.

"Yes, he'll be down in a minute," Luna replied, stepping aside so Cho could enter the foyer, Neville following behind her. Leaning down, he kissed Luna and went to set his bag down. When Luna had told Neville that they would be staying in that night, he'd offered to bring some Muggle board games and his Wizards Chess set. Luna loved that sort of thing, so she quickly accepted his offer. While Luna and Neville busied themselves in the sitting room, setting up their games, Draco and Cho left the house so that they could get their date underway.

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The seconds seemed to drag on, in Luna's opinion. She and Neville had spent the entire night talking and playing board games, but she couldn't seem to keep her mind on what she was doing. With Draco out with Cho, Luna found it even harder to keep him out of her mind. Truth be told, she was jealous, and she wouldn't even try to deny it. Seeing Draco all dressed up as he walked out of the house with Cho Chang was like having a knife plunged into her heart and twisted viciously. She wanted nothing more than to rip Cho's stringy hair out of her pudgy little head. Unlike most of their dates, Neville couldn't help but notice how distracted Luna seemed. At several points he'd had to shout her name loudly just to get her attention, and even then her mind would start to wander seconds later. Realizing that the evening was a bust, Neville called it quits just before midnight. After he had gone and she had straightened up the sitting room, Luna sat up and waited for Draco to come home instead of heading to bed, as she should have. At nearly two in the morning, still having seen no sign of Draco, Luna decided to throw in the towel and just go to bed.

A few hours into her fitful slumber, Luna was awakened by the sound of loud thuds and moans. Not really thinking clearly, she wrapped her robe around herself and headed towards where the noises sounded like they were coming from. Before she knew what she was doing, Luna was opening the door that led to Draco's bedchamber. It took her several moments to realize what she was looking at, but the moment she did, Luna let loose a very high pitched squeak before jerking the door shut and covering her mouth with both hands. '_That's just obscene!' _she thought, as she tried to process what she'd just seen. While Luna was trying to compose herself enough to walk back to her room, Draco's door opened and he came out, shutting it behind him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, as if she'd just walked in on him doing something as perfectly innocent as knitting. Luna couldn't quite speak, so she just stared at him dumbly, her mouth slightly opened. "It was late so I thought it would be safer for her to sleep here instead of going home alone," Draco tried to explain, knowing that his words were not only a lie, but were also completely unbelievable. Even though her walking in on them had always been a part of his plan, Draco couldn't help but feel guilty about how bad he was making Luna feel. It took a great deal of effort to continue acting nonchalant about what had just happened, but he managed to muddle through. "You okay"

"Not nearly as good as you are, but I'm fine," she grumbled, her shocked look giving way to an angry glare.

"You seem mad."

"I'm only mad because you woke me up," Luna lied. "Not everyone can sleep through what sounds like to wild boars going at it."

"You've heard two wild boars shagging?" Draco asked, sarcastically.

"Of course not, stupid. Next time, just put up a silencing charm so you don't wake everyone up. It's only polite!" Without another word, Luna turned and stormed down the hall towards her room, slamming the door loudly behind her. No sooner that the door connected with the jamb, Landon started screaming, the loud noise waking him up. How he'd managed to sleep through the commotion caused by Draco and Cho but not through her slamming a door, Luna didn't know. What she did know was that she was quite pissed. Having to see the father of her son shagging that cow made her want to puke, cry and throttle him all at the same time. As she rocked Landon back to sleep, Luna finally snapped out of her state of denial. She was finally able to admit to herself that she wanted Draco. But there was one problem, well, two actually, one being Cho Chang and the other being Neville Longbottom, and Luna didn't have the slightest idea of how to address either of them.

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The entire time she had spent in the nursery with Landon, after walking in on Draco and Cho, Luna had contemplated whether or not it was a good idea to let Draco know how she felt. She was torn. For the last couple of months, she'd made it a point to tell him that she wasn't interested in a romantic relationship with him, and now that she was sure that she did want to pursue one, Luna wasn't sure how Draco would take the news. The only ray of hope that she was able to cling to was what he had told her the night of the Ministry Ball. He'd said that they were made for each other and that he'd always want her. If that was true, than she had nothing to worry about. If it wasn't, she was screwed. Not that it really mattered anyway, because Draco and Luna didn't speak all that much after she had walked in on his and Cho's '_celebration_', as she liked to call it. In fact, for some reason, even though she'd finally come to terms with her true feelings for him, Luna had gone to great lengths to avoid him, and Draco hadn't done much to make it hard for her to do so. As a matter of fact, in the three weeks that had passed, he'd hardly spent any time at the house. He'd even gone so far as to not come home several nights in a row. Luna assumed he was probably sleeping over at Cho's or some other witches house; a thought that made her skin crawl.

On top of having to wrestle with her thoughts of Draco, Neville was also making things difficult. Admittedly, Luna had been avoiding Neville ever since that night, but he was quite determined to see her again. He'd even developed the habit of showing up at Luna's office at Quibbler Headquarters, which she had started working at two weeks prior. At one point, Luna had to hide under her desk just to avoid talking to her persistent suitor. It wasn't like Luna didn't care about him. She just didn't want to hurt him, and if she told him that she wanted to be with Draco, not him, there was no way he wasn't going to be damaged by it. Personally, Luna hoped that if she ignored him long enough, maybe he'd just forget about her. Deep down, she knew that it was highly unlikely, but a girl could hope, couldn't she?

As if her Draco and Neville problems weren't enough to deal with, on top of being the mother of an infant who has just started her new job at the Quibbler, Luna also had to deal with the fact that she had recently developed a virus. The last thing a girl wants to deal with when she's got boy trouble is the flu, but Luna, being as _lucky_ as she was, wasn't given the opportunity to take on one problem at a time. Not only did Luna have to worry about herself being sick, she also had to worry about not getting Landon sick too. The boy was still an infant and she was terrified that she would pass her germs on to him. So instead of nursing, she'd taken to giving him nothing but formula until she was well again.

But even with all of the precautions she had taken, Landon still managed to get sick. For days he'd been a fitful mess, his little nose either running constantly or stuffed up, making it uncomfortable for him to breathe. He'd even developed a bit of a cough. Needless to say, Landon wasn't sleeping very well, which meant, neither were his parents, both of whom had to get up early for work. All week, Draco and Luna looked exhausted, neither getting more than an hour or two of consecutive sleep each night. The only positive thing that came out of Landon catching a cold was that Luna and Draco were finally able to sit in the same room together without things feeling awkward. They'd even shared quite a few decent conversations while they comforted their fussy baby. Not once did it occur to Luna that it was an opportune time to let Draco know how she really felt about him, mainly because her mind was, as it should be, on her ailing son. Luna was surprised by all of Landon's symptoms, as all she had to deal with was nausea and dizzy spells, but her father assured her that he would be fine in a few days, once the virus had worked its way through his system. Luna was tempted to brew a draught to help rid him of his cold, but Mr. Lovegood had advised her against it because of the babies age. So instead, Luna was forced to endure watching her son battle his cold on his own, which made her feel completely helpless.

Draco knew that Luna felt awful about not being able to make Landon feel better, and he was sure that her being so tired wasn't helping her cope either, so that evening during supper he had told her to go to bed early and that he would watch the baby so that she could get some decent sleep. Luna's schedule at the Quibbler had grown to be quite demanding and he knew that she could really use the rest. Eternally grateful, Luna had trudged upstairs the moment she'd finished cleaning up the mess she'd made while cooking supper. Within moments of lying down, the physically and emotionally exhausted mother was out cold. Just a few hours after settling into bed, Luna felt herself being jostled awake.

"I really think we should take him to St. Mungo's," Draco said, as he cradled a bundled up Landon in his arms. "He's burning up and I don't know how to make his fever go down." He hated having to wake Luna up because if she was half as tired as he was, she really needed to sleep, but he couldn't help but feel like things were a bit more serious than just a cold and if they were, than they needed to get the baby the proper care as soon as possible.

"Just give me a sec and I'll be down," Luna replied, jumping up out of bed so that she could throw on a tee shirt and some jeans.

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It seemed like they had been sitting in the waiting room for hours without receiving any news on how Landon was doing. Luna didn't think she'd ever been so worried before in all her life. When the medi-witch finally came out to speak to them, both Luna and Draco ran over to meet her. According to the witch, Landon had a really bad case of the flu and that though he was dehydrated and had a really high fever, he would okay. Luna thought that she would be able to take him home right then, but the nurses had a few more tests they wanted to run and they wouldn't let him leave until his fever had dropped to a tolerable degree. The witch was also curious as to how Landon had gotten sick, so she asked Luna to allow her to look her over, since she had been nursing the boy. When Luna told the medi-witch that she had been sick earlier that week but that she hadn't had any real troubles since then, the witch was sure that was how the baby had contracted the virus. This officially made Luna feel like a horrible mother, even though she'd done everything she could to avoid passing her germs on.

The exam only took about half an hour and Draco was nice enough to stay with Luna while they did it. Usually she would have to wait until her follow up visit to know the results of her exam, but since they needed to know what she'd had in order to ensure that they treated Landon properly, they gave her the results within half an hour of her having taken the test.

"You said that you had been sick earlier this week, Miss Lovegood," the medi-witch said, as she looked over Luna's chart with a curious look on her face. "What were your symptoms exactly."

"I had terrible dizzy spells, headaches, my whole body was sore and I was pretty nauseous," Luna replied, softly, her guilt over getting Landon sick still weighing her down.

"Your son didn't get sick because of you," the witch replied, offering Luna a small smile.

"Really?" Luna asked, feeling a bit relieved by the witches assurance. "Than how did he get sick?"

"Babies are very good at getting sick, my dear. They touch everything they can get their little hands on and they put everything they possibly can in their mouths. It doesn't take much for them to become ill and its quite common." Luna was ecstatic. She still hated the fact that Landon was uncomfortable and sick, but she was relieved that she wasn't the one to cause him that discomfort. "The nurses are tending to his fever now. Once they get it down, you'll be able to take him home. It shouldn't be but an hour or so."

"Thank you very much," Luna said excitedly, as she shook the medi-witches hand. "You're the best."

"Wouldn't you like to know why you were feeling ill?" The witch asked Luna.

"Right," Luna laughed. "I'd forgotten about that."

"I'm not supposed to give you your results in front of non-family members," she said, gesturing towards Draco.

"That's Landon's father," replied Luna, waving off her concerns. "He's a part of our family."

"He's a part of Landon's family, so I can give him the results of Landon's tests, but since you two aren't married, I'll need your express consent to do so."

"It's okay, you can tell me while he's here," Luna assured the medi-witch, smiling over at Draco. She felt like a million pounds had been lifted from her shoulders and she didn't think anything would dampen her mood.

"You're pregnant." It took several moments for the witches words to click in both Luna's and Draco's minds, but when they did, their jaws hit the floor. Neither could believe what they'd just heard.

"What did you say?" Luna asked, disbelievingly. Draco was still unable speak, so he simply stared at the two witches with a stunned look on his face.

"You're pregnant, Miss Lovegood."

"But I just had a baby," Luna exclaimed, the severity of the prognosis hitting her. "I can't have another baby, when I've already got a baby. Landon's barely five months old!"

"I assure you, Miss Lovegood, it is possible to have a baby when your first child is still so young. The female body doesn't tend to ovulate for the first six to eight weeks after childbirth, but thereafter is fair game."

"I don't bloody well believe you," Draco gasped. "You let Neville fucking Longbottom knock you up!" Luna was speechless. She couldn't believe that Draco would assume that she'd slept with Neville. They hadn't even moved past an innocent kiss here and there, and Draco was actually yelling at her for sleeping with him. "My son will not be related to Neville Longbottom's spawn! How could you do this?"

"I didn't," Luna whispered, her feelings genuinely hurt by his baseless accusations. "There hasn't been anyone else. Just you." Draco was dumbfounded, as he recalled the night they'd spent together after his trip to the 'Baby Depot'. Not only had he handled the situation in the worst way possible, but he'd more or less told her she was easy, when she wasn't. When Draco screwed up, he really screwed up.

"You mean..."

"Yes, you moron," Luna snapped, her hurt giving way to anger. "It's yours."

"Damn, I'm good," he muttered to himself. "That's two for two. Two shags, two babies. That's got to be a record or something, right?"

"I don't know Mr. Malfoy, I'll have to look that up for you later," the medi-witch said, sarcastically. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go check on your son." With that said, she left Luna and Draco alone in the exam room.

"Luna, I'm sorry. I didn't..."

"Shut up," she muttered, not wanting to listen to him try to formulate a decent apology for basically calling her a whore. "I don't want to deal with this now."

"Is that how you're going to handle everything? Push it aside? This isn't going away Luna, so you might as well just talk to me about it now," he argued.

"What's to say?" she snapped. "You basically called me whore, without any evidence of that being true. Like father like son, I suppose."

"Wow... If your goal was to hurt me, it worked," Draco muttered, tucking his hands into his pocket and staring at the wall. "I know what I said was wrong and highly presumptuous and I'm sorry. It's just after seeing you and Neville together for the last few month or so, and then hearing that you were pregnant, my mind automatically assumed the worst. I'd forgotten, momentarily mind you, that we'd had a fantastic night together not too long ago. I'm sorry, okay?"

"Whatever," she whispered, not really giving a damn if he was sorry or not. Truth be told, Luna wasn't so much mad at Draco as she was herself. She couldn't believe that after having sex **twice**, she'd managed to become pregnant **twice**. Draco was right, that's got to be some sort of record.

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I'VE BEEN SO EXCITED TO POST THIS PART EVER SINCE I STARTED WRITING THIS STORY. HOPE YOU LIKE IT : )

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	18. Off the Record

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 18: Off the Record**

No matter how hard she tried, Luna simply couldn't look at the bright side. After finding out that she had gotten pregnant by Draco again, she retreated to her former quite and brooding self. Luna had always planned on having more than one child, but she'd never wanted to have them so close together, out of wedlock and at such a young age. She'd only spent two weeks at her job at the Quibbler and had really started to enjoy it, but now that she was pregnant again, Luna knew that it was only a matter of time before she would have to take maternity leave. At the rate she was going, Luna would never be able to establish herself as the well respected and reputable journalist that she wanted to be. What was worse, was that Draco was absolutely ecstatic about the news. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but Luna had made it very clear that she wanted to keep the news about her being pregnant again secret until she had a chance to explain it to her father.

Draco had initially agreed, but after two days had passed and she hadn't spoken with her father, he lost the little resolve he had and blurted it out to his secretary. Luckily, he was able to swear her to secrecy by threatening her job, but it wasn't long before Draco had told several other people, of whom he couldn't threaten to fire. That was when his excitement got the best of him and he broke down and, for reasons still unknown to him, contacted Rita Skeeter with the exclusive story.

Things between the young couple had been quite tense in the week that followed their finding out that Luna was pregnant again. Draco knew that Luna was shocked, so he tried not to take her less than thrilled attitude to heart. He'd assumed that she would have snapped out of it after having been able to process her thoughts on the news, but it didn't look like that would be happening. At least not anytime soon. Granted, Luna had yet to outright say that she didn't want to have the baby or that she was unhappy about it, Draco felt that she wasn't looking forward to it. He'd thought that he would be able to help her get used to the idea, but he knew that Luna was still really angry about the way he'd taken the news about her pregnancy, so he didn't press too much. Truth be told, Draco didn't blame her for being upset. He'd more or less called her a whore, thanks to his shock over the news, and that was something that he wasn't even able to forgive himself for. This guilt was one of the reasons why he agreed to keep quiet about the baby, and now that he hadn't kept his word, he was sure that whatever progress he had made over the last week, was sure to be reversed once Luna read the article.

Knowing that his article would be in that mornings edition of the Daily Prophet, Draco had awoken early so that he could read it before she did. Rita had promised him that the article wouldn't defame his family in the slightest and would only serve to announce their happy news to the rest of the magical world, but Draco knew Rita Skeeter and he wasn't completely convinced that she would make good on her end of the deal.

After reading it, Draco was glad to see that she had kept her word. For once in her career, Rita Skeeter had actually managed to write an insult free, fluff piece, and Draco thought that the article was quite good. But no matter how well written or polite the article was, Draco knew that Luna would still be pissed when she read it, especially since she'd expressly asked him to keep his mouth shut and he'd assured her that he would.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Draco asked, as Luna entered the kitchen, surprised to see that Draco was already there. Usually she beat him to the kitchen and was able to get breakfast started before he arrived.

"I've been better," she muttered, sounding horribly sad

"Are you puking a lot?" Draco asked, biting into an apple loudly. He'd went a bought a book about being pregnant the day after they'd found out, and he'd been trying to sound like he knew what she was going through, ever since.

"You speak so eloquently, Malfoy," Luna grumbled, not really answering his question. "Just so you know, it's called morning sickness, so you don't have to say puking."

"Is there anything I can do?" Draco asked, softly, at a complete loss as to what he could do or say to make her feel better.

"I'm fine," Luna replied. "I'm just tired." Draco felt that she was lying; even as the words left her mouth, she sounded like she wanted to cry.

"I don't think I could pull off being pregnant as well as you do, Love. If I could, I'd carry the baby for you" Draco said, hoping that compliments might ease her sharp temper. "I just don't have the legs for it, but you definitely do." Luna didn't say a word, she just stared at him as if he'd just said the dumbest thing possible. Seeing that he was holding the prophet, and desperate for a distraction, Luna held out her hand and waited for Draco to give it to her. For several moments, Draco contemplated just running out of the house with the paper and chucking it, so she couldn't read the article, but he knew that she'd find out about it sooner or later, so he handed it over.

When Draco had given Rita the exclusive about Luna being pregnant with his second child, he hadn't expected it to make the front page, but sure enough it had. Write under the title of the paper, in big bold letters, was the headline, _'MALFOY FAMILY GEARING UP FOR NEW ARRIVAL'. _Draco knew that the headline didn't give too much away and part of him wanted Luna to skip over it thinking it was about his father's company, but he knew that he wouldn't be so lucky. Luna was a stickler about making sure that she knew what the competition was putting in their papers, and this morning wouldn't be any different than any other morning when she read the paper cover to cover.

"Draco," Luna said, jolting Draco out of his nervous thoughts. "There's an article about your Dad's company in the paper." Draco didn't know what to say to that, so he just stared at her dumbly. Not sure why he was looking at her like that, Luna decided to read the article to him. _"It seems that the addition of five month old, Landon Cooper Malfoy..."_ Luna looked like she was ready to gouge Rita Skeeter's eyes out. "Why are they saying his last name is Malfoy? It says Lovegood on his birth certificate."

"Don't know," Draco lied. He had told Rita to use Malfoy instead of Lovegood, as he felt that Landon should of have his last name all along. "I'll try to find something out." Seemingly satisfied, Luna offered him a weak smile before continuing with the article.

"..._was not enough to satisfy the heir to Malfoy Enterprises and the fortune it had brought in. Draco Malfoy, 19, who currently holds the position of Vice President at Malfoy Enterprises, has informed me, exclusively, that he and the mother of his son, Luna Lovegood, are currently expecting their second child. When asked if this is the last of their brood, Draco Malfoy stated that he intended on having several children, though a specific number is unknown. He figures that he will stop having children when, 'Luna won't let me have anymore'. Mr. Malfoy has assured me that he doesn't plan on over doing it like the Weasley family is notorious for doing."_ Draco could hear the disbelief in Luna's voice as she read the article. The fact that she had continued reading past the part stating they were expecting another baby, surprised Draco. He'd expected her to beat him with a spatula or other kitchen utensil as soon as she read it. _"When asked if a wedding was in the works, Mr. Malfoy stated that he and Luna weren't in any rush to get married because a love like their's is a sure thing and they don't need a ceremony to prove it. He has assured us that someday the pair will publicly declare their love for one another but public approval is the last thing on their minds at the moment. Instead their attentions are excitedly focused on being good parents to son, Landon, and ensuring the healthy development of, what Draco hope's will be their daughter. 'I've always wanted a baby girl,' Draco said, a huge grin on his undeniably handsome face. 'I can't wait to hear her call me Daddy. I've already got some cute little outfits for her. When her Mum saw them, I think she thought that I was nutters!'. The longer I sat with Mr. Malfoy, the more I could see that he was under the influence of the excitement and love that only someone faced with parenthood could know. It was no secret that the conception and birth of his first child, Landon, was kept from Draco and perhaps that is why the young wizard is so overcome by happiness after hearing the news. When asked about how he felt towards Miss Lovegood for keeping the existence of his child secret for so long, Draco replied, 'I was an asshole to her for the entire six years that I knew her, save for my last night at Hogwarts. I can only imagine how terrible I made her feel all of those years, and not once did she ever retaliate. In fact, because of something she said to me out of concern for my well being, even though I'd just said some horribly cruel things to her, I was finally able to get a handle on my anger and learn to move past some of the rubbish that had been strangling me for so long. Six years, I tormented her and when I saw someone else do it, and how... crushed she was, I wanted to make her feel better. Now whether or not that's what I did, I can't say, but I can say that Landon was conceived by my efforts. One night of decency, that's all I ever gave her, and that's not much to cause her to trust me. I don't like that she didn't tell me she was pregnant. I would have loved to have been there, but I can't blame her for not telling me. Like I said, I was an ass.' " _Instead of finishing the rather lengthy article, Luna calmly folded the paper and wordlessly sat it on the table between her and Draco. Standing, she went to the cabinet and started to prepare herself a couple of slices of toast. Draco was worried. He would have really preferred her to yell or something, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of her being completely silent about it.

"Do you really not blame me for not telling you about Landon?" Luna asked, as she sat back down next to him, her dry toast on its plate in front of her. Draco couldn't help but notice that she still refused to look at him, instead her eyes remained focus on her toast.

"No, I don't," he said, softly. "I can see why you were afraid to tell me. I wish you had, but if I hadn't acted the way I had, you probably wouldn't have been so scared to come to me, and for that I am really sorry." Standing, Luna turned to leave, her toast mostly untouched. "Where are you going?"

"I've got to go and do damage control with my Dad," she said. "I can't imagine he'll be too thrilled by that article."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Draco asked, standing and walking over to her. "I can take off from work."

"No, I'll do it myself," she muttered. "Can you take Landon over to Gwennie for me? I won't be able to take him to her before I go see my Dad."

"Sure." Draco said, nodding. "You sure you don't want me to come?"

"Positive," she assured him, before slowing heading towards the stairs. Draco couldn't help but feel like he'd gotten off easy. Not only did she not yell at him, but she hadn't even brought up the fact that he hadn't kept his word about not telling anyone about the baby. The more he thought about it, the more sure he was that this was his punishment. She wanted him to wonder whether or not he'd ever get yelled at and he didn't like it one bit. Nope, Draco didn't appreciate mind games.

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Luna had spent as much time getting ready to go see her father as she possibly could have. Part of her thought that if she just stayed in her room forever, maybe this entire mess would sort itself out, but she knew that wouldn't work. So, after about an hour of procrastinating, Luna finally trudged downstairs and out of the house before apparating to her childhood home.

For nearly ten minutes, Luna just stood outside of the front door, contemplating how best to handle this. Luna was even more nervous now than she was the first time she'd told her father that she was pregnant, and that she couldn't make sense of. Her father had been so understanding about her pregnancy and she really hated having him think she'd gone and screwed up again. There were few things she hated more than her father being disappointed in her. Finally scrounging up some nerve, Luna opened the front door and went straight to the breakfast room, knowing her Dad would be in there.

"Daddy," Luna greeted him, as he stared stone faced at that mornings edition of The Prophet. At the sound of her voice, Mr. Lovegood looked up, his usual kind expression replaced with a purposefully blank one.

"Yes," he said, flatly.

"Have you read the Prophet?" she asked, dumbly.

"You know I have," her father said, tersely.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize," he interjected, angrily. "How could you do this? What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't," she replied, lamely. "He was just so... I don't know. I was confused, but it doesn't matter because..."

"I don't doubt that you were confused, Luna," her father assured her.

"I know it was stupid, Daddy. I mean, how dumb do you have to be to get knocked up twice... by the same person, but it's not like that. He's just so... him. I don't know! He's really good at getting what he wants without even seeming like he's trying. He just does some of the sweetest things sometimes, most of the time, in fact. I absolutely adore him but I didn't want him to know that, hell, I didn't even want myself to know that. It just gets hard trying to pretend that I don't want him when I do. It's no excuse for being so careless, again, but luckily it doesn't matter this time..." Luna's father wasn't exactly sure how things had gotten off course, but judging by the fact that his daughter was near tears, he was pretty sure that she had a lot on her mind.

"Luna," he interjected, his steely tone replaced with an amused one. "When I asked you how could you do this, I meant how could you do an interview with the Prophet before telling your own father, not how could you have another child with Draco."

"Oh," she said, lamely, her mood still not improving. "Well, in that case, you should know that I had nothing to do with it. I asked Draco to wait until after I had told you before he told anyone but apparently his excitement got the best of him and he told Rita Skeeter, of all people. I found out about it this morning in the Prophet. I wanted you to know first, I just didn't know how to tell you. I thought that you would be mad at me, but now that I've gotten..."

"Why would I be angry?" he asked, astounded that she would think such a thing. "Was I angry last time?"

"No, but this isn't like last time," she clarified.

"Love," her father said, coming to stand next to her in the doorway and wrapping his arms around his confused daughters shoulders. "I'm thrilled that you're continuing your relationship, if that's what you want to call it, with Draco. He's a great father and after having grown up and gotten over his ridiculous prejudices, he's a great guy who love's you. One child or twenty, I don't care, so long as he treats you all like royalty. My anger was solely due to how I found out about your pregnancy, not because you're pregnant. As a matter of fact, I'm quite thrilled about it. So is Rosie."

"But that's what I'm trying to tell you," she exclaimed, tired of being interrupted while she tried to tell her father what was probably the hardest thing she'd ever had to say to him.

"What is it?" her father asked, alarmed by her outburst. Luna rarely raised her voice, especially at him, so whatever was on her mind must have been pretty important.

"I'm not pregnant," she whispered. "Two days ago, I got my period. While Draco was at work, I went by St. Mungo's and the medi-witch examined me again and said that I hadn't miscarried or anything, I just was never pregnant."

"Then why did she say you were?" her father asked, sadly. He'd been so excited to hear that he was going to have another grandchild, even if he was angry about how he'd found out, and to know that it wasn't true, was like torture.

"She's said that based on my symptoms, she was sure that the test had to be right," Luna explained, the tears she'd been holding back now falling in torrents. "But because I'm still nursing and my hormones are still kind of out of whack, the test can sometimes be wrong. All of my nausea and dizziness must have actually been the flu and not just symptoms of being pregnant. So, on top of losing a baby I never had, I did get Lanny sick."

"Oh, Love," her father said, holding her close to him. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now. How's Draco taking it?"

"I haven't told him," Luna said, her crying increasing greatly. "At first, I wasn't really too happy about being pregnant, but the more I thought about it, the more I like the idea of having another so soon. Right when I was so sure that everything was going to be wonderful between Draco, me and the kids, I got my period, and it was all ripped away. He's so excited. He's sure its the daughter he's always wanted, and I can't bring myself to tell him that there's no baby."

"And now everyone expects you to be pregnant because of the article," Mr. Lovegood murmured, the full extent of just how terrible things really were hitting him with full force.

"He's not going to take it well," Luna whispered, once her crying slowed a bit.

"You need to tell him soon. The longer he thinks you're pregnant the worse its going to be. You need to tell him now, Luna. Not just for his well being, but for your own. You can't deal with this by yourself. You need to be there for him and he needs to be there for you." Luna's father hated seeing his daughter so upset, and to know that he couldn't do anything to make it stop, made him angrier than words could say. "Take the day off. Go get Draco from work, take him and tell him. I'll pick Landon up from Gwennie's a little later and he can stay here. You two need to be alone so you can deal with this, okay?"

"Thank you, Daddy," Luna whispered, making no move to leave her father's arms.

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I WAS PLANNING ON WAITING A FEW DAYS BEFORE I ACTUALLY POSTED THIS CHAPTER, SINCE I'D JUST POSTED ONE EARLIER TODAY, BUT ONE OF THE REVIEWS WAS A LITTLE TOO ACCURATE, SO BEFORE ANYONE ELSE WAS ABLE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THIS WAS HEADING, I THOUGHT I'D JUST GO AHEAD AND PUT THIS ONE UP TONIGHT.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANTED LUNA TO REALLY BE PREGNANT, DON'T WORRY, SHE MAY NOT BE PREGNANT THIS TIME, BUT I'M SURE DRACO WILL MANAGE TO GET IN HER PANTS AGAIN. THIS SUDO-PREGNANCY WAS MORE OF A CATALYST THEN ANYTHING : )

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	19. Run to Mommy

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 19: Run to Mommy**

Taking her father's advice to heart, Luna took the day off from work. She'd stayed at her old house for an hour or so after her father had left for the office, just so she could re-familiarize herself with her surroundings. Apparently, Rosmerta had been spending a great deal of time at the house, as a lot of stuff had been moved around and some rooms had been completely redecorated. Surprisingly, not even Rosmerta's presumptuous behavior was enough to force Luna's mind onto a topic other than her not being pregnant. The real reason why Luna was roaming aimlessly through her childhood home was because she was trying to work up the nerve to head over to Draco's office and break the news to him. Nearly an hour and a half later, Luna realized she was as ready as she was going to get, and headed out of the house.

Luna really wished there was another, much slower, way of getting around, as apparating brought her to her destination a lot sooner than she would have liked to have gotten there. As she walked up the many stone steps leading to the massive building that housed Malfoy Enterprises, Luna found herself in awe of the impressive structure. When Lucius was twenty-five his father turned over control of the family business to him, and with that turnover he inherited not only a great deal of responsibility, but an enormous amount of power. Being the Malfoy that he was, Lucius was quick to settle into his dictatorial role. Within just three months of being in control of the company, Lucius had already contracted one of the Wizarding World's finest architect's to design a complete re-haul of the entire building. If his father had lived long enough to see the completion of the project, even he would have been impressed.

Just as Luna was pulling the handle of door that led to the lobby, she felt someone on the other side pull in their direction, jerking the lithe girl forward. As she looked up to see who it was that had nearly yanked her arm out of her socket, Luna was quite unsettled to see the President of Malfoy Enterprises, Lucius Malfoy smirking down at her, clad in his usual exquisite apparel. For several moments, all she could do was stare up at her son's grandfather, frightened half to death. The last time she'd seen Lucius was at their housewarming supper, and he certainly hadn't been in a very good mood when he'd stormed out of the house.

"What?" he asked, coolly. "Surprised to see that the President of the company actually comes to work?" Realizing that this was actually Lucius making an attempt at joking with her, Luna laughed awkwardly. "You can let go of the door, Miss Lovegood." Her cheeks blushing, Luna lowered her hand from the door handle. "I believe congratulations are in order. I read the article in the Prophet this morning. Another baby... impressive."

"I... um..." Luna didn't know what to say. Part of her wanted to pretend like she was in fact pregnant, just because she knew that it probably grated Lucius' nerves. The only thing stopping her was her dislike of lying.

"My son seems quite... thrilled by the news, as is his mother," Lucius continued, ignoring the young witches attempts at speaking to him. "I, on the other hand, must say that I'm surprised that you allowed my son into your bed again. You seemed positive that you didn't want him to have anything to do with your first child, so for you to have another one so soon is interesting, not to mention, unhealthy." Luna was only half listening to Lucius' tirade. The more he spoke about babies, the harder it was for her to maintain her composure. Noticing the girl trying to fight back her tears, Lucius huffed loudly and rolled his eyes, before placing his hand at the small of her back and leading her towards his huge office.

Once inside, Lucius directed Luna towards one of the rich leather armchairs across from his massive desk. As she sat down, Lucius went over to the mini bar that was positioned a few feet away and poured her a glass of wine, and himself a glass of brandy. Luna was half tempted to sniff the drink for poisons, but thinking that he would be offended, she took her chances and sipped the delicious beverage.

"Is there a problem, Miss Lovegood?" he asked, as he settled into his own chair. "You don't seem a quarter as excited as my son. He was so overjoyed that he forgot he was upset with me long enough to ask if myself and his mother had heard the good news."

"He is quite thrilled," Luna agreed, nodding her head as she downed the rest of her wine in one gulp.

"Would I be correct to assume that you had nothing to do with this mornings article?" he asked, sipping at his own drink. "It doesn't seem your style. Definitely Draco's though."

"No, I didn't know about it."

"You don't want this baby?" Lucius asked, quite sure that he already knew the answer.

"It took me a little while to get excited about the idea, but eventually I did."

"So this is you excited?" Lucius asked, sarcastically. "I've seen Severus show more enthusiasm than you are right now."

"I wasn't pregnant. The medi-witch was wrong," Luna blurted out, wanting his endless questioning to end. "So you don't have to worry about me further contaminating the Malfoy gene pool."

"You presume far too much, Miss Lovegood," Lucius drawled, shaking his index finger at her disapprovingly. "It seems that you're under the impression that I am not fond of my grandson. I can assure, my dear, you couldn't be any further from the truth. I'm sure Landon will serve the Malfoy name well, not to mention, improve any less than favorable opinions brought on by my dalliances with the Dark Lord."

"Than why are you such an ass?" Luna asked, not really believing his claiming that he liked Landon.

"Perhaps, it's just my disposition," Lucius replied, laughingly. "By the way, I really wasn't trying to kill _you _that night. You just happened to be in the way."

"Well in that case, all is forgiven," Luna snapped, sarcastically.

"If only it were that simple," Lucius whispered, his eyes glued to a spot on the wall just over Luna's shoulder. "Would I be correct to assume that you're here to speak with Draco about you're not being pregnant?" Luna nodded, solemnly. "This article in the Prophet will prove to be rather bothersome, won't it?" Luna nodded again, this time slumping down into her chair and holding her head in her hands. "Don't concern yourself with the article. I'll take care of that. You just make sure you break the news to my son as carefully as possible. He's in the boardroom; fourth floor at the end of the corridor. You can't miss it." Lucius waved Luna off, signaling her to leave. As she stood to leave his office, Luna couldn't help but wonder how exactly he was going to handle the situation with the Prophet, but she did know that she was eternally grateful for not having to deal with it herself.

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Draco was bored senseless. This was the second boring meeting he'd been forced to sit through that morning and he was more than ready to get the hell out of the office. As VP of Malfoy Enterprises, Draco was responsible for giving the okay on almost all of the ideas presented by the staff. He hated his job, there was no doubting that, but he'd never had much of a choice in the matter. Lucius, the President of Malfoy Enterprises, had been grooming him for this position since he was thirteen. His father had even brought him to work everyday during the summer before his third year at Hogwarts and all summers thereafter, to give him an idea of what to expect. At the time, the job seemed interesting, but now that Draco actually had to do it day in and day out, he was quite sure that VP of Malfoy Enterprises was the single most boring job in the world. Truth be told, his job wouldn't seem so lack luster, were he to even make an attempt at paying attention to the presentations, but that was too far outside the scope of his current attention span. Part of him just wanted to tell his father to take his job and shove it, but that was merely a fantasy he'd never be able to see play out, much to his chagrin.

Needless to say, when Draco saw Luna standing outside of the large glass walls of the board room, he nearly jumped for joy. It took every ounce of self control in his body to keep him from jumping out of his chair and dashing out of the room. Just as Draco was getting ready to politely bring the meeting to a close, his father's head appeared in the fireplace informing everyone in attendance, except for Draco, that he needed to see them in his office right away. Not even considering that his father had known that Luna was there and was trying to give him a way out of the meeting, Draco considered it all a great big coincidence. As soon as all of the employees had filed out of the room, Draco rushed out to the hall to meet Luna.

"Hey," he said, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek, before doing the same to her stomach. Luna felt her heart drop. He was so happy to think that she was having his child, and in just a few minutes time she would have to tell him she wasn't, and that was something that Luna was crushed to have to do. "What brings you here? Are you feeling alright?"

"I took the day off from work," Luna said, softly, noticing the worried tone in Draco's voice. "I'd hoped that we could spend some time together today. Maybe talk or something..."

"Sure," he replied, happily, glad that she wanted to be with him. "Let me grab my things from my office and we'll head out."

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After retrieving his things from his office, Draco and Luna left Malfoy Enterprises together and headed towards the house. Luna had suggested that they apparate back to the house, but Draco had wanted to walk back home since it was so nice out that afternoon. Luna hadn't really been fond of that idea, especially since she knew that they were bound to run into people who'd read the article in the Prophet and she didn't want to have to answer a hundred questions, but Draco seemed to be enjoying their walk, so she agreed.

"You want to go get Lanny from Gwennie's house?" Draco asked, once they were about halfway home. Ever since Luna and Draco had returned to work, Gwennie, Luna's childhood nanny, had been watching Landon during the day. Draco was usually the one who was responsible for picking Landon up from the sitter's house, unless he had to work late, so she wasn't surprised that he'd mentioned it.

"Actually, my Dad is going to pick Landon up and keep him for the night," Luna said, nervously taking hold of Draco's hand that wasn't holding his briefcase and blazer. "I thought we should have some time to ourselves tonight. To talk about stuff, you know?"

"Talk?" Draco said, disbelievingly, as he cuddled up next to her, which made it nearly impossible for them to continue walking. He didn't believe for one second that she wanted to spend the evening talking to him, but he'd play her game if that's what she wanted. "What are we going to talk about, Love?"

"What were you guy's meeting about this morning?" Luna asked, in a rather poor attempt at changing the subject. "It looked pretty interesting."

"Trust me, it wasn't," Draco replied. "Now, as I asked before, what are we going to talk about... and don't change the subject again."

"We'll talk about it later, okay..."

"What is it?" Draco asked, planning on badgering her until she admitted that she just wanted to shag him. "Something important on your mind?"

"Not now, Draco," Luna whispered.

"What is it?" he asked again, standing in front of her, so that she couldn't get around him. "What it is?"

"The baby, you idiot!"

"Oh," Draco said, not having expected that to be her answer. He'd hoped she'd say that she just wanted them to have a romantic evening together, but if she wanted to talk about their baby, he was fine with that too. "What about her?'

"Wait until we get home. Please," she pleaded, not wanting to tell him that she wasn't having his baby after all. "Just wait until we get home." Luna noticed that Draco had said, her, instead of it, when referring to the baby. Obviously, he'd already made up his mind about the sex of their non-existent child.

"All right," he said, shrugging his shoulders. Draco figured he was about to get what he deserved for having that article in the Prophet published, and she just didn't want to make a scene in public. He couldn't help but be impressed that she had lured him home under the impression of having a nice afternoon shag, when in reality he was going to have his ass handed to him. Quite frankly, it was devious and he hadn't thought she had it in her.

The rest of their journey home was spent in tense silence, as Luna went over how she would go about breaking the news to Draco in her mind, and Draco tried to figure out a viable excuse for why he went behind her back and told the entire world that they were having another baby. As they neared the house, both wished there was some way to avoid having the conversation, or in Draco's mind, the argument, that was fast approaching. They both knew it was unavoidable, but that didn't mean that they couldn't dread it.

Once they had gotten home, both went upstairs and changed from their work clothes into something more casual and comfortable. Both dreading what was to come, they took a great deal longer than was necessary to get changed, but after nearly forty-five minutes, both met up in the kitchen.

"You want something to eat?" Draco asked, as he settled onto one of the stools at the breakfast counter. This had become Draco's way of asking Luna to make him something to eat. Instead of just asking, he asked her if she wanted something and then told her what 'sounds good'. Standing, Luna headed over to the refrigerator to see what would be quick to make. Seeing that she'd picked up on his hint, Draco moved on to another topic. "I was thinking that Chloe sounds like a good name. What do you think?"

"Shit," Luna muttered. She knew there was nothing worse than for Draco to name the baby, the baby that didn't even exist. It was like when you found an animal wandering the street and brought it home with the intention of finding it's owners, but after a while you had to just go ahead and give it a name, and once you did, it was yours and there was no hope of giving it up. "Draco, you can't name her."

"You don't like Chloe?" Draco asked, slightly offended that she didn't like his suggestion. He thought that Chloe was a beautiful name, befit a Malfoy. "I think Chloe Malfoy sounds lovely. It even sounds good when you say Chloe and Landon Malfoy. They go quite nicely together."

"Landon _Lovegood_," Luna reminded him. Inwardly, she cursed herself for saying that, but she didn't know why he couldn't accept the fact that their son had her last name, not his. "And it's not that I don't like the name Chloe. I think its beautiful. But the reason you can't name her is because she doesn't exist. I'm sorry, Draco. She just doesn't." That wasn't how Luna had planned on telling him and she couldn't believe that she'd just said it that way, but he'd backed her into a corner with that whole name thing and she really hadn't had much of a choice.

"I know, I know," Draco mumbled, waving his hand at her dismissively. "We could always end up with another boy, but if we do then we can just try again. I'll love him just the same. I just won't be able to use those cute dresses that I bought."

"No, Draco," Luna groaned, unable to believe that he didn't get it. "I'm not pregnant. There is no baby."

"What?" Draco asked, his head jerking round to face her. Luna knew that he'd heard her, so she didn't repeat herself, figuring that he wouldn't want to hear it again. As he sat in front of her, Luna could see his icy blue eyes filling up with tears that she knew he'd never actually let her see him cry. "But the medi-witch said that you were pregnant. I was standing right there." Luna knew that Draco was trying his damnedest to rationalize what she was telling him, but the lack of information made it all but impossible, so she explained exactly what had happened.

"Two days after we were told that I was pregnant, I got my period. I knew that if I was pregnant, I shouldn't have come about my cycle's, so I went to see the medi-witch. She said that I'd never been pregnant. The test was wrong because of something having to do with the excessive hormones from my pregnancy with Landon. I'd actually been sick, not pregnant. That's why I was nauseous and dizzy. That's why Landon got sick. Because of me. I'm sorry, Draco. I would have told you sooner but I didn't know how. You were so happy and I didn't want to be the one to ruin that," she whispered, staring at her hands sadly. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"So, there was never a baby," he muttered, processing what she'd just told him. "They just assumed that their initial test was correct?"

"I'm sorry," Luna said, not knowing what else to say to him. She knew that there were no words that she would ever be able to say to console him, because at this point she wasn't just telling him that someone had been wrong about something, she was telling him that his child, the one he'd already named and had probably already pictured exactly how she'd look in his mind, didn't exist. It would be like telling him that Landon was dead.

"You don't have to apologize," he mumbled. "You didn't do anything wrong. Look, I've got to dash back over to the office and pick up a couple of things. It should only take about an hour or so and then I'll be back, okay?"

"Alright," Luna stammered, not having expected him to leave after she'd told him the news. "I'll see you in a little bit." Quickly, Draco stood and grabbed his jacket off of the back of his chair before making to leave.

"You okay?" he asked, turning back just before he'd reached the doorway. Luna nodded and offered him a weak smile. Nodding back, Draco headed for the front door, leaving Luna to herself. The moment she heard the door shut, Luna slid down the wall she was resting against, curled her knees to her chest and cried. She wasn't exactly sure if she was crying because she wasn't pregnant or if she was crying because of how badly she'd just had to hurt Draco, either way, she didn't care, it just felt good to get it out instead of holding it in like she'd had to do almost all week.

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Draco hadn't had any intention of going back to the office. There wasn't anything that he'd forgotten to grab before he'd left the first time, he just needed to get out of the house. His entire life his father had made it clear that Malfoy's don't cry, while his mother told him that it was okay to cry, just not to let anyone other than herself see him do it, otherwise, his father would throw a fit. After nineteen years of hearing it, it had been ingrained in Draco's mind, so when Luna told him that 'Chloe' didn't exist he'd done the only thing he'd known would make him feel better.

"Mum," Draco called out, his voice cracking as he struggled to maintain his composure. Closing the front door of his childhood home, Draco headed towards his mother's lounge, where he knew that she spent most of her day. "Mum!" he shouted again, after getting no response. This time his mother heard him. Just before he reached the door to her lounge, it swung open and she appeared in front of him. Narcissa didn't have a chance to say a word before Draco's head fell to its familiar spot at the crook of her neck, as he let out the tears he'd been fighting back ever since Luna had told him she wasn't having his baby. His poor mother didn't have the slightest idea what had come over her son and she didn't care, all she knew was he was hurting and he needed her. It took mere seconds for her to switch back over to Mom-mode, as she liked to call it. As a child, Draco had always hated it when she would baby him, unless of course he was upset, so Narcissa had been forced to learn to turn it on when he needed it and turn it off when he didn't.

For nearly half an hour, Narcissa and Draco stood in the doorway of her lounge, while he cried over the loss of the baby that had never actually been conceived. Due to his upset state, Draco hadn't yet told his mother that Luna wasn't pregnant, but Narcissa knew that her son would only be this upset over something serious, so she was sure it was either the new baby or Landon that had him so distraught. Once he'd calmed down enough so that he could speak, Narcissa led Draco inside of her lounge and made him sit down on the settee while she retrieved a calming draught and a cup of tea for him. After administering the draught and fixing his tea exactly how he liked it, Narcissa sat down next to him and waited, as she always did, for him to tell her what was bothering him.

It only took about five minutes for the full effects of the calming draught to take hold, but once they did, Draco was finally able to explain.

"She's not pregnant," he whispered, leaning back and slumping down against the back of the settee, his mother mimicking his actions so that their heads rested against each other. Narcissa was stunned by what she'd just heard, but she knew that if she reacted to it badly then Draco would start crying again. It took her a few moments to compose herself and hide the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes, but once she did, Narcissa asked for a bit more information about the news her son had just given her.

"Did she have a miscarriage?" Narcissa asked, reaching up and taking hold of Draco's hand, stroking the top of it with her thumb.

"No," he replied, his free hand coming up to wipe away a few stray tears that had started to form again. Surprisingly, not even a calming draught brewed by Severus Snape, Potion's Master (and asshole) extraordinare, could completely quell the distress felt by the young wizard. "She just wasn't pregnant. When we took Lanny in because of his fever, they'd asked to examine Luna so they could figure out exactly what was wrong with him. When Luna said that she'd been nauseous and dizzy they assumed that their test was absolutely correct, and that she was pregnant. They completely ignored the fact that she'd only had Landon like five months ago and that she was still nursing. Apparently, that can sometimes make pregnancy test results misleading because of excessive hormones or something."

"Draco," his mother said, sitting up and taking hold of both of his hands so she could pull him upright. Wrapping her arms around him, Narcissa gently pat his back in much the same manner she had done when he was a child and was upset. "I'm so sorry, Darling. I know how excited you were about having another baby. I know how badly you want Landon to have a little sister."

"I don't think you have any idea how much I want another baby," Draco said, shaking his head. "Boy or girl, I don't care. I just wanted another one. I wanted to actually get to be there while Luna was pregnant instead of popping into the baby's life three months after he's born. I love Landon to death and I wouldn't change a thing about how things have gone with him. I've grown so much as a person because of Luna and how she handled the situation, but I still missed out on so much. I should have been able to watch her get fat, hear her complain about swollen ankles and sore nipples..."

"You must drive Luna insane with the stuff you've read about in those books you bought," Narcissa said, laughingly. Ever since his journey to the 'Baby Depot' with Blaise and Goyle, Draco had been throwing out various bits of information that he'd read in the baby books he'd picked up, at very random intervals. Lucius had told Narcissa that he was even doing it at work during board meetings, which proved to be very awkward and difficult to recover from. After all, when you're talking about branching out into outside markets, you don't really except the VP to announce that _'sex is often a quick, easy, and not to mention, enjoyable way of inducing labor'_. Everyone at the meeting was so unsettled by Draco's proclamation that Lucius had to call a ten minutes break, so they could compose themselves.

"She chucked a few of my books in the fireplace a few days ago," Draco said, he too finding it quite amusing. "I think she got that move from Snape."

"How is she taking this," Narcissa asked her son, after kissing him of the forehead.

"She said she was okay, but I don't know. I don't think she wants me to know how she really feels about it," he replied, recalling his conversation with Luna earlier that afternoon. "She'd found out that she wasn't pregnant two days after they told her she was. She didn't tell me until today because she didn't know how to say it without upsetting me. She knew how excited I was." It was then that Draco realized that her behavior over the last week, that he'd taken as her not being excited about the baby, was actually her trying to keep him from knowing that she wasn't pregnant. He couldn't imagine how hard it must have been to hold something like that inside and not be able to talk about it . Draco didn't doubt that his going on and on about the new baby must have been really hard on her. Suddenly, he felt like a real ass. Here he was, cuddled up on the couch with his mother, crying his eyes out, while the woman who had been led to believe she was pregnant when she wasn't, was at home all by herself. As the pieces of the puzzle started falling together, Draco also figured out that her seeking him out that afternoon and asking him to come home early, was most likely due to Luna's needing to talk about what she'd been holding in.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Narcissa asked, genuinely concerned about the young witch. No matter what Lucius had said to her, Luna was undoubtedly the love of her son's life, and if Draco loved her than she would love her too, no questions asked. "Maybe she should see one of those counselors at St. Mungo's. A friend of mine went to speak with one when her son died during the final battle, and she said that he was wonderful."

"I don't think Luna's much for sharing," Draco said, shaking his head. He knew his Mum was right, Luna did need to talk to someone. Unfortunately, when she had come to him to try to talk about it, he was too busy wallowing in his own self pity for him to notice. Draco officially felt like an ass. A great big, uncaring ass. As he berated himself, a thought struck him, "Shit! The article!"

"Language," his mother chided, never having approved of her son's use of bad words, a habit he'd picked up from his father at a very young age.

"You don't need to concern yourself with the article," a very familiar voice drawled, causing both Draco and his mother's heads to jerk around. They were greeted by the sight of Lucius Malfoy leaning against the door jamb, his arms crossed over his chest."Just make sure that you take care of the child you do have and his mother. You can have another one later on, but if you don't make sure Miss Lovegood's happy, you can pretty much count on it not happening."

"What do you care?" Draco snapped, still agitated with his father for what he'd said about Luna at the housewarming supper. "I really don't think you're in any position to advise anyone on how to handle their wives or children."

"Perhaps, that's exactly why you ought to listen to me," Lucius replied, tensely. He wasn't sure if he was proud that Draco was learning to stand up for himself or angry that he was questioning him, either way, Lucius was being as emotionless as possible, so as not to further agitate his son. "I'm not asking you to do as I've done. I'm asking you to learn from some of the mistakes I've made."

"How did you know Luna wasn't pregnant?" Draco asked, curiously. "Have you been eavesdropping?"

"No," Lucius said, smiling. "Miss Lovegood informed me of the news just before she came to see you. That's why I called an end to your board meeting."

"Why would she tell you before she told me?" Draco asked, angered that Luna would go to his father before she came to him.

"I saw that she was upset, so I offered her a drink to calm her nerves. She blurted out that she wasn't pregnant of her own accord," Lucius informed his son. "She wanted to assure me that she wouldn't be further contaminating our gene pool... I believe those were her words."

"Did you upset her?' Draco asked, warningly.

"Did she seem upset when you saw her?" his father snapped, growing tired of his son's acting as if he'd done something wrong. "I simply told the girl to make sure that she told you the news as gently as possible and that I would handle the issue with the Prophet. So, I would appreciate it if you would soften your tone when you speak to me. After all, your inability to keep a secret, even after promising to do so, just cost me a great deal of money and Rita Skeeter her job."

"What did you do?" Draco asked, not really caring what his father had done, but just touched by the fact that his father had taken it upon himself to do anything at all.

"Luckily, you only personally informed six people of Luna's pregnancy, so it didn't take too long," Lucius began, as he crossed the room and made himself and his wife a cup of tea. Seeing that Draco already had one, he didn't bother to make one for his son. "I offered each of the people you spoke with about the baby, one-hundred thousand galleons for any and all memories that pertained to the situation at hand, as well as, the conversation that they and I were currently having. Naturally, they all agreed, and with the assistance of a pensieve the memories were extracted and have been destroyed."

"But you said that Rita Skeeter had lost her job," Narcissa interjected, setting her tea cup and saucer down on the table. "How?"

"After speaking with Mrs. Skeeter, I determined that she was the only one at the Prophet who had spoken with Draco about the pregnancy, and since all of the other people he'd spoken with had been justly compensated for their memory of the event, that left no one, other than Rita, who could deny the claim I'd made to her boss."

"What did you do?" Narcissa asked, not sure if she even wanted to know.

"I told her boss that the entire article was farce and that Mrs. Skeeter was a sorry excuse of a journalist," Lucius said, laughing. He'd hated Rita Skeeter for as long as he could remember and he simply couldn't miss out on the opportunity to finally let her have it. "I informed him that Miss Lovegood was not pregnant by Draco again, but that the two were happily raising their only child together. I also made it very clear that I would not allow for my family to be used in so blatant a manner, just to ring up paper sales. I demanded that a retraction and apology be published immediately. Her boss called Skeeter to his office and informed her of what I'd just said. Naturally, she denied it and went to retrieve her notes from the interview. Nothing on the papers could be proven to have come from your mouth, so I simply said they were fabricated and that you would never have spoken in such a manner. I also threw in that she was an illegal animagus, and within moments, Rita Skeeter no longer worked for the Prophet and she is currently being investigated by the Ministry for her animagus status." Draco and Narcissa were stunned. Neither could really figure out why on earth Lucius had gone to such extreme measure to cover up the fact that the article contradicted the truth. It would have been so simple to either print a new article that corrected the previous one or have just done nothing and moved past it, clearing up the matter with only those who took the time to ask about it.

"What if they go to the medi-witch?" Draco asked, knowing that the old witch wouldn't have taken a bribe.

"She was particularly vexing," Lucius drawled, a smug smirk on his face. "After turning down my offer to purchase her memories regarding the situation, I informed her that the Ministry would more than likely have her removed from the hospital were they to find out that she had been so neglectful a practitioner. It is well known that a suspected pregnancy so closely following a pregnancy must be handled differently than others due to hormonal fluctuations, especially if the mother is still nursing. St. Mungo's protocol requires that multiple tests over the period of two weeks must be performed before a witch can be declared pregnant. This was not done, so pregnancy should never have even been mentioned until it had. It was pure laziness on their staffs part. After I reminded her of her lacking services, she quickly offered up her memories. I've also removed any mention of it from Miss Lovegood's medical records, so you have nothing to worry about. If anyone asks you about the pregnancy, you and Miss Lovegood need only deny that it ever happened or that you ever spoke to the Prophet about it."

"Thank you," Draco said, still unsure of why his father was going to such lengths to help him and Luna. Granted, this certainly wasn't how Draco would have liked to have handled the situation, he wasn't about to question his father's tactics, especially since it seemed like this was Lucius' way of trying to make amends for his previous behavior towards Luna.

"Not a problem," Lucius said, nodding. "I must say, Miss Lovegood wasn't nearly as grateful when I informed her that the situation had been tended to."

"When did you see her?" Draco asked, not liking the idea of his father being alone with Luna.

"I assumed that you would be at home, so I went there first. When I found that she was alone, I told her of what happened. She said that I'd done things the hard way, instead of just being honest about it. I told her that clearly she didn't know a thing about keeping up appearances, and that she would need to pay attention were she to make it in this family. By the way, you may want to mention to Miss Lovegood that she really doesn't have much of a choice but to marry you. She's under the impression that she's not a part of this family. As you know, the Malfoy family does not allow for children from multiple women, therefore, if you ever plan on getting married or having another child, it's going to have to be with Miss Lovegood."

"I need to get home," Draco muttered, as he stood to leave, not really wanting to get into another debate with his father about Malfoy family principles and rules; Merlin knows there were enough rules to keep them arguing for days. "Luna's probably really pissed."

"She didn't seemed angry," Lucius said, moving to sit in the seat next to his wife that Draco had just vacated, his arm resting on her shoulder. Apparently, Lucius was quite pleased with himself and figured that his wife would be too. "When I got there, she looked like she'd been crying for quite some time. When I went to leave, she kept trying to find some reason to get me to stay. I don't think she wanted to be alone." Lucius looked down at his wife the entire time he spoke, playfully winking at her from time to time. "I think this is harder on her than you may have imagined it would be. You may want to go home and talk to her."

"So, she didn't seem mad?" Draco asked, wanting to make sure that he wasn't walking into a disastrous argument blindly. "You're sure of that?"

"Grow a backbone," his father scoffed, toying with a lock of his wife's hair. "Can you leave? Now?" No more needed to be said. Draco knew exactly why his father was so anxious for him to leave, and he certainly didn't want to stick around to witness it.

"That is really gross," Draco muttered, a disgusted look on his face. "You're putting the moves on her right in front of me."

"Well, if you would leave, we wouldn't be having this problem, now would we?" Lucius replied, still not looking up from his wife, who simply sat there with a knowing and slightly embarrassed look on her face, as she stared at her tea cup.

"Bye." Fighting the urge to gag, Draco left his parents to their... business.

"If you never made it a point to tell me when you did things you knew you shouldn't have done, I'd still always know because you get so damned excited when you do bad things," Narcissa said, once she knew Draco was out of earshot. She was quite surprised that Lucius had heard a word she'd said, since the moment Draco had shut the doors he'd had begun removing his clothes as quickly as possible. It never ceased to amaze Narcissa, that the only time her husband ever forgot that he was wizard was when he was tending to his baser needs. It would have been a hell of a lot easier to just use his wand to disrobe, but Narcissa wasn't about to bring that to his attention.

"Shut up," he said, playfully. "You like it when I do bad things... or when I make obvious exertions of power."

"Well, you are your father's son," Narcissa replied, thoughtfully. It was a little known fact that Narcissa had been quite taken with Lucius' father when she was young witch. That was one of the reason's why she'd even agreed to meet with the Malfoy family to discuss a possible marriage between their families when she was just twelve years old. She'd had such a big crush on Lucius' father that when he'd asked her to consider marrying his son once they were older, she agreed. When Narcissa wanted to poke fun at Lucius she'd bring up her childhood crush on his father. It was one of their little ways of toying with each other, that no one else would be able to pick up on.

"Well, let's just hope the same pertains to Draco," Lucius replied, seriously, the playful tone to his voice gone. "If not, I'll certainly be hearing about it from Father for all eternity, once I'm dead."

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SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG. THE GIRL THAT FILLED IN FOR ME AT WORK DURING MY VACATION TURNED OUT TO BE AN IDIOT, SO I CAME BACK TO A DISASTER. I PROVIDED STEP BY STEP NOTES ON EVERY SINGLE THING THAT HAD TO BE DONE AND EVEN TOLD HER WHAT ORDER AND WHAT TIME TO DO THEM, YET SHE STILL MANAGED TO MESS EVERYTHING UP.

FYI: I'M NOT SURE HOW LUCIUS AND NARCISSA GOT TOGETHER, SO I HAD TO MAKE IT UP. IF THEY DO MENTION IT IN THE BOOKS, WHOOPS : )

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	20. Rectify

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 20: Rectify**

Draco couldn't believe how daft he'd been. For the past few months he'd spent a great deal of time trying to convince Luna that he'd make a suitable significant other, and the first time she'd actually come to him when she needed someone to talk to, he'd been too blind and self involved to notice. Draco knew that he'd have a hell of a time convincing her that he'd make a good husband now, but he also knew that his father was right. If he ever wanted to settle down and expand his family, Luna was his only real option. Children from multiple women was a big no no for any member of the Malfoy family, and Draco wasn't about to piss off his ancestors anymore than he already had. Not for one second did he doubt that he'd get an earful from them when he passed on, for breeding with a non-Pureblood, like Luna. The last thing he wanted to do was add more fuel to the fire.

As he entered the foyer of his home, Draco found that all of the lights were out, and due to it being early evening already, the house was quite dark, making it difficult for him to see. Several times he bumped into various pieces of furniture before deciding to stop being lazy and just light some candles. Once able to see, Draco continued through the house in search of some sign of Luna.

The longer it took him to find her, the more worried he became. He'd searched nearly the entire bottom two levels of the house and he still hadn't been able to locate Luna. Dashing upstairs, Draco headed straight for Luna's room. Originally, he'd thought it was far too early for her to have gone to bed, but since he couldn't find her anywhere else he figured it was worth a shot. Not even bothering to knock, Draco stormed into her room. He'd hope to find her nestled in her bed, but that too was empty and didn't show any signs of having been disturbed. Scanning the room, Draco saw a bit of light shining underneath the crack of her lavatory door. Rushing over, he burst inside.

To his relief, Draco found Luna lying in the bubble filled porcelain claw foot tub, the large space filled with the dim light of several strategically placed candles. Softly, Draco whispered her name, not wanting to startle her. When he didn't get an answer, he called out to her a bit louder; still there was nothing. Assuming the worst, Draco rushed over to the tub and wrapped his arms around Luna's limp body, pulling her up and out of the tub. Startling the poor girl half to death, Luna's arms and legs began flailing about, trying to wretch herself from the intruders grasp.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Luna shouted, after realizing that the person who had so rudely disturbed her bath was Draco. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Remembering that she was naked, Luna quickly grabbed hold of a big fluffy towel and wrapped it around herself.

"Nearly gave you a heart attack!" Draco snapped, standing to face Luna, his jeans and shirt soaked with water from when he pulled her from the tub. "What about me! I thought you'd killed yourself or something!"

"Killed myself!" Luna said, laughing incredulously. "Why would I do that?"

"Because of what's going on," Draco said, feeling completely justified in his worry. "With the baby and all."

"I wouldn't kill myself because I wasn't pregnant, Draco," Luna informed him. "It's not like I had my heart set on having another baby just yet. The medi-witch made a mistake and yeah, I'm sad about it, but I'm not suicidal, stupid."

"Alright," he conceded, an embarrassed smile creeping onto his face. "Maybe I jumped to conclusions, but I'd been looking all over the house for you and I couldn't find you anywhere. I just got really worried, that's all."

"Where did you think I would have gone Draco?" Luna asked, as she released her still dry hair from a clip and began brushing it. "Its a big house, but there are only so many rooms that I bother to use. My bedroom and lavatory should have been the first place you looked."

"I know," he muttered, sitting down on the edge of the tub, his head resting in his hands. "I just wasn't thinking straight."

"Long day at the office," Luna said, a hint of snideness to her voice that didn't go unnoticed by Draco.

"I wasn't at the office," he confessed. "I was really upset about... you know... and I really just needed to see my Mum. So, I lied. I went home instead of going to the office, like I said. I'm sorry."

"I knew you weren't going back to the office," Luna replied, waving off his apology with a flick of her wrist. "I was pretty sure you were either going to go see your Mum or to see your friends."

"I'm sorry," Draco whispered, looking up at her for the first time since confessing that he'd lied to her. "I was only thinking of myself. I should have picked up on the fact that you needed to talk to someone about how you were feeling about this, but I didn't. Hell, my Father picked up on it before I did. I'm sorry, Luna. I should have been there for you and I wasn't. I can't tell you how awful I feel about that. You shouldn't have had to go through this by yourself."

"No, I shouldn't," Luna agreed, her eyes welling up with tears. "But, its over and done. No sense in dwelling on the past."

"If its still making you want to cry, then it's not over and done with," Draco replied, standing and approaching Luna, who stood with her back to him so that she could see herself in the mirror while she brushed her hair. Wrapping his arms around her, Draco pulled Luna against him and forced her to turn around and face him. Doing as he knew he should have done all along, Draco comforted Luna while she cried, whispering in her ear that everything was going to be okay. Try as he might, he couldn't help but keep himself from crying a bit too, even though he'd spent a great deal of his afternoon doing just that with his Mum. For some reason, the sound of someone he cared so greatly for being upset, broke his heart.

After nearly twenty minutes of standing on the hard marble bathroom floor, both of their backs began to ache, so Draco ushered Luna into her room so that they could be more comfortable. Once she was settled in bed, Draco offered to get her some tea, but Luna declined. Instead, she just wanted to go to sleep. Taking the hint, Draco blew out the candles that cast light on her room and headed for the door.

"Will you stay in here with me tonight?" Luna asked, softly, just before he shut the door. "I don't really want to be alone."

"Sure," Draco said, without even taking the time to think about it. Quickly, he divested himself of his clothes and settled down into bed next to Luna.

"Thanks," Luna whispered, snuggling up next to Draco. "You sure your girlfriend's won't mind you sleeping in here with me?"

"Funny," Draco laughed. "But I don't have any girlfriend's. It's just you... Looney."

"Funny," she mocked. "Ferret."

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The next morning, Luna and Draco settled back into their usual routine, minus getting Landon ready to head over to Gwennie's, since he was over at Luna's fathers house. Though neither mentioned it, both noticed that something was different about their relationship. Whatever it was that had changed between them was subtle, but it was enough to make a marked difference. Instead of their usual friendly banter during breakfast, that was usually centered on Landon, Luna and Draco found themselves talking about each other and various other things that had absolutely nothing to do with the only real thing that was forcing them together; their son.

"So, how are things at work?" Draco asked, as he poured syrup over his pancakes. Luna had apparently tired of either cooking omelets or eating them, because that morning she had forced Draco to eat something else for breakfast besides her egg creations.

"Great actually," Luna replied, as she cast a spell on the dishes in the sink so that they would begin cleaning themselves. Settling down next to Draco with her own breakfast, Luna went further into detail about her work situation. "My father's pretty much letting me run with whatever ideas I've got, so its been really nice. I haven't been working on anything that people would normally associate with the Quibbler, so I'm pretty interested in what people will have to say when the next issue comes out."

"So you're happy then?"

"Couldn't be happier," she assured him. "How about you?'

"Miserable," he groaned. "I'm not exactly sure what it is I'm supposed to be doing anyway. I kind of just sit around telling everyone else what to do. It's terribly boring."

"Why don't you tell your Dad that you don't like it and you want to do something else?" she asked, as if doing so was as simple as that.

"You have met my Father, haven't you?" he asked, pulling a face. "I can't just tell him I want to do something else. This is what I'm supposed to be doing."

"But you don't actually know what you're supposed to be doing," Luna laughed.

"Exactly," he agreed, laughing along with her. "I guess I'm just doomed to be miserable in my professional life. But that's okay, because personally, I couldn't be any happier... Well, I could, but this is good for now."

"For now?" Luna questioned, her tone failing to hide her being taken aback by his statement.

"Eventually, things are going to have to change between us, but for now... until you're ready, this is good." Luna knew that Draco had chosen his words carefully, and he'd fully intended on not telling her exactly what he'd meant. Instead, he made sure that his words could be taken to mean several things. "Listen, I was thinking that maybe we could set aside a night or two each week where we were able to go out or something."

"What, like a date night or something?" Luna asked, sipping her orange juice.

"Yeah, I mean we may be parents but that's no reason for us not to have a social life," he explained, his words slightly garbled because he had pancakes in his mouth. Luna shot him a look, one that said, 'don't talk with food in your mouth'. After swallowing his food, Draco continued, "It would be nice for us to get out every now and then. How are we supposed to ever work on our relationship if we're too busy fussing over Landon? I think it would be good for us."

"Oh, you meant that you and I would be together on those nights," Luna said, finally on the same page as Draco. She'd thought that he meant that they would be able to go on dates with other people on those nights, not that they would go out together.

"Of course," he said. "I certainly don't want you out with anyone else. So, I guess what I'm asking you is, will you go out with me tonight?"

"Cheesy, Malfoy," she laughed. "Really cheesy, but yes. I'll go out with you." Just as Draco was getting up to kiss her, they heard a knock at the door. Grumbling under his breath, Draco went to answer it while Luna put their plates in the sink, so that the spell could take care of washing them. A few moments later, Draco returned to the kitchen with their guests in tow. To Luna's surprise, the person at the door had been the one person she'd been going to great lengths to avoid all week long; Neville Longbottom.

"You have a guest," Draco said, an amused smirk on his handsome face. "I'll leave you two to it then." With that said, Draco left for work, so that Luna could do what she should have done all along; end things with Neville. Part of her wanted to dash out the door with Draco and just hope that Neville would catch a hint, but she knew that if he was going to put two and two together, he would have done it already. Taking a deep breath, Luna turned to Neville, ready to finally end their short lived relationship.

"Neville, we need to talk..."

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SORRY THIS CHAPTER WAS SO SHORT AND TOOK SO LONG TO POST. IT'S ACTUALLY THE REST THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER, BUT SINCE THAT ONE WAS SO LONG, I JUST SPLIT THEM UP. I'VE FINALLY GOT THE MESS AT WORK SETTLED SO IT SHOULDN'T TAKE SO LONG TO POST THE NEXT CHAPTER. UNTIL THEN, BYE AND THANKS FOR ALL OF THE KIND REVIEWS : )

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	21. The Start of the Beginning

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 21: The Start of the Beginning**

All day long, Luna kept going over the events of that morning in her mind. Neville had been so upset when she'd told him that things between them could never go any further than friendship. It had broken Luna's heart to hurt him like that, but she really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. She'd long since stopped denying her feelings for Draco, and since she already had a child with him, Luna felt that she owed it to both Draco and her son to put all of her efforts into building as strong a family as possible. She wasn't completely sure that she and Draco would be spending the rest of their lives together, at least not as husband and wife, but she felt that she should at least give it a try. After all, Draco seemed more than willing to, so why shouldn't she?

Aside from her conversation with Neville that morning, Luna's mind was also filled with thoughts of Landon. It had been far too long since she'd seen her son and the separation was beginning to wear on her nerves. At several points during the day, Luna had nearly broken down and gone to Gwennie's to retrieve her son. The only thing stopping her was the fact that her day had been booked solid. Since she'd taken the previous day off, Luna had to reschedule several of her interviews for that morning, otherwise she was sure to fall behind schedule, which meant that her debut issue of the Quibbler wouldn't make it to print in time.

Luckily, since she was so busy, the day flew by and in no time at all, Luna was able to rush home to meet Landon and Draco. As usual, when Luna walked inside the house, she was greeted by the familiar sound of Draco playing with Landon. Ever since they'd returned to work, it was the same every afternoon. Draco would leave the office and head over to Gwennie's to retrieve Landon and by the time Luna got home, Draco would have changed into his casual clothes and was busy playing with his son. Luna was so comforted by the familiar sounds of Draco laughing and joking with the baby. She hadn't realize how accustomed she'd become to their routine, but after having changed things around for just one day, Luna was sure that she wouldn't be able to stand any long term changes to their life anytime soon.

"There's Mommy," Draco said to Landon, the sound of Luna's heels clicking against the floor signaling him that Luna was home.

"How's my guy?" Luna said, dropping her briefcase on the ground next to the couch and rushing over to Draco, who lay on the floor with Landon, numerous rattles and other toys scattered around them. "Oh, Mommy missed you so much."

"It was weird today, wasn't it?" Draco asked, as he sat up and watched Luna shower his son with kisses. "Not seeing him before work. I couldn't focus on anything all day... well, I focused even less than usual."

"It was awful," Luna agreed, cradling the baby tightly against her chest. "I couldn't focus much either."

"Yeah, but you also had Neville on the brain," Draco teased, knowing that Luna would be embarrassed about what had happened that morning. Draco didn't understand why Luna was so surprised by a guy being taken with her, after all she was very beautiful, and he himself had fallen quite hard for her. Draco knew that Luna's low self esteem had everything to do with the way her peers, himself included, had treated her while at Hogwarts, but it still didn't make much sense to him. He figured, if you're beautiful you're beautiful and that's that. The mirror doesn't lie. But then again, Draco never had to deal with constant teasing from his peers, least of all for his looks. "How did it go with him this morning anyway?"

"Fine, I suppose,"Luna replied, her fair skin flushing with embarrassment.

"Did he cry?" Draco laughed.

"No," she snapped, not liking Draco's amusement over someone's getting hurt. "But he was upset and he didn't understand why I'd want to throw away whatever potential happiness we could have had together for the likes of a Malfoy. He said he was half tempted to keep pursuing me, but since there was a baby involved he wouldn't try to get in the way. He did want me to tell you that you're a lucky son of a bitch and that you'd better be careful with how you treat me and Landon, otherwise, you'll have to deal with him."

"Well, you can tell your friend that I'm well aware of how lucky I am, but if I weren't careful, he's the last person I'd be afraid of," Draco replied, standing up and approaching Luna. Kneeling down next to her on the floor, where she sat with Landon, Draco kissed her. It wasn't one of the gentle kisses that he usually bestowed upon her, but one that had a point; one that clearly said, '_mine_'. "Just so you know, I spoke with my Mum earlier and she said that she'd be happy to watch Landon whenever we wanted to go out. So, I was thinking that Wednesday nights and Saturday nights could be our date nights, and that my Mum and Dad could watch Lanny one of those days and your Dad could watch him the other."

"Your Dad's going to be there?" Luna asked, nervously.

"Luna, believe it or not, my Dad's trying really hard to change his ways. We had a really long talk about it at the office today. He told me that my hitting him for what he said about you, showed him that he can't keep behaving the way that he does, or he'll lose his heir."

"His heir," Luna repeated, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "How loving a term."

"Well, I am his heir," Draco defended. "He wants to be a part of my life and he wants to see his grandson grow up. He's willing to stand by and let us raise Landon however we want to, so long as we mull over changing Landon's last name to Malfoy."

"Absolutely not," Luna piped in. "His last name is Lovegood and that's how its going to stay."

"I don't want to argue about it or anything, and this is strictly from my father's mouth, but since Landon is a Malfoy, legally he can have his last name changed without your consent. There's this familial interest law that gives him that right, as the head of the family. It's stupid, but its legal. Besides, when we get married, your last name would change to Malfoy, so what does it matter?"

"_When_ we get married," Luna exclaimed. "I didn't realize that we'd planned on that ever happening."

"Let's not do this tonight, Love," Draco said, taking Landon out of her arms and helping her up. "We're going to have a fantastic evening together, so I don't want to argue. Why don't you go upstairs, take a nice warm shower, get yourself all sexied up, and I'll take Lanny over to my Mum's house."

"Alright, but let me make myself clear, Landon's last name isn't changing." Luna stood, placed one last kiss on Lanny's forehead and one on Draco's cheek, and then bounded upstairs to get ready.

"God, your Mum's hot," Draco muttered, bouncing Landon up and down in his arms as he headed for the door. "If I play my cards right, I might get laid. What do you think?" Landon's only response was a resounding burp. "I didn't think so either."

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When Draco arrived at his childhood home, he could hear that his mother and father were seated in the sitting room, chatting and waiting for him and Landon to arrive. Apparently, due to her excitement over having her grandson spend the evening with her, Draco's mother had pulled out all of his old toys and playthings, so that Landon would have something to occupy himself with while he and Luna were on their date. Draco wasn't surprised to see that his mother was so overjoyed by the thought of having a few hours of quality time with Landon. She'd always made it clear that she'd wanted more than one child, but his father was set on only have a single son. Regardless of that, not even Lucius could manage to hide the fact that he was looking forward to having his grandson over for the evening.

As Narcissa sat on the plush carpeted floor, next to Lucius' armchair, busying herself with laying out the toys for Landon, Draco noticed that she wasn't in her usual overly expensive garb. Instead, she wore black slacks and a plain white oxford. He'd never seen his mother look so, well... normal. As far back as he could remember, Narcissa Malfoy had always made it a point to be dressed to the nines, so to see her in such casual attire caused Draco to do a double take. His father, however, was still decked out in his work clothes, which, as always, consisted of some of the finest and most expensive apparel one could find. Draco couldn't help but feel bad for his father. He knew how much Lucius appreciated luxurious apparel, and he also knew that if it looked expensive, Landon would spit up on it... or worse. Draco didn't feel bad about it for too long though. The more he thought about it, the funnier it seemed. He'd never really seen his father look anything other than pristine, hell, even while locked up in Azkaban he'd been spotless and dressed to the T, so needless to say, Draco was almost looking forward to hearing his mother tell him of his father's unavoidable encounter with a mucusy mess, upon returning to pick Landon up that evening.

"Hey Mum, Father," Draco said, as he finally made his arrival known. "Thanks again for watching Lanny."

"Oh, it's our pleasure," Narcissa enthused, jumping up to retrieve her grandson from her son's arms. "I swear, he gets more and more adorable everyday!"

"Handsome," Lucius corrected, standing to greet his son with a handshake, now that he wasn't holding the baby. "He's handsome, not adorable. I swear, I went through the same trouble when you were born. She was always fussing about you being cute or some other sissy adjective, and it certainly didn't help that you looked far too feminine for your own good."

"He wasn't feminine," Narcissa defended, her brow furrowed. "He was such a darling little boy."

"Like I said," his father interrupted, rolling his eyes at his wife's denial. "You were quite feminine."

"Thanks," Draco replied. "I really needed to know that I was a girly baby."

"I didn't say you were girly, just feminine," Lucius joked. Draco didn't know why his father was in such a good mood, but he was definitely unsettled by it. Usually, when Lucius made it a point to joke with him it was because he was either up to something or one of his plans at, as Draco liked to call it, world domination, had worked in his favor. "What's all that stuff in the chair?" Lucius asked, pointing at the large bag Draco had placed in a nearby armchair when he'd arrived.

"That's Lanny's away bag," he explained, opening up the large tote so he could show them its contents. "These are his bottles. I fed him just before we left so he shouldn't want another one for another hour or two..."

"What is in there?" Narcissa asked, looking at the contents of the bottle uneasily.

"Breast milk," Draco responded, as if she'd just asked the dumbest question ever.

"Why isn't it in your girlfriend's breast?" Narcissa asked, still not liking the idea of feeding her only grandson what was in those bottles.

"Luna uses a breast pump throughout the day and stores the milk in the bottles," he informed his mother, realizing that she didn't understand the premise of the pump. "She nurses him when she's there, but when she's at work, Gwennie just uses the bottles of Luna's milk to feed Lanny. That way he doesn't get too accustomed to the formula. Breast milk is always best for the baby."

"When did you become such a girl?" Lucius asked, a bewildered look on his face. "A few weeks ago you couldn't even say the word breast without blushing or laughing, and now you're talking about pumps and milk. You need to get out more."

"That's what they're trying to do, dear," Narcissa snapped. "Besides, I think it's wonderful that Draco's so knowledgeable about the care of his son. It would have been nice to have had that sort of involvement from you when he was a baby." Narcissa leaned over and kissed her son on the cheek, genuinely proud that he'd managed to become such a great father when he hadn't had the best of examples.

"Thanks Mum," Draco replied, his cheeks flushing out of embarrassment. While he explained the other contents of the baby to his mother, Lucius took Landon from his wife's arms and walked over to some of the various Malfoy family relics that were scattered around the family room. Draco could hear his father explaining to his infant grandson exactly what they were and how they could be useful. The sight of his father with Landon resting against his chest was a welcomed one. Even his mother had stopped mid-sentence when she saw her husband gently patting the tiny infant on the back while he gave him a tour of the room. Draco couldn't help but feel like this was the moment when his father was really accepting Landon as his grandson, as a Malfoy. It had been a huge worry of his, that because of Luna's lineage, she and Landon would be treated as outcasts. But it seemed that Lucius didn't plan on doing that, which was a big relief in Draco's mind. Unfortunately, Landon couldn't allow the three adults to enjoy the beautiful moment for too long. Whenever you pat the boy on the back, you can almost count on a mess. True to form, Landon spit up right on the shoulder of his grandfather's favorite blazer. When Lucius heard the unfamiliar gurgling noise, he knew exactly what had happened and stopped dead in his tracks. To make matters worse, Narcissa started to laugh. Draco had thought that he'd enjoy Landon making a mess of Lucius' jacket, but instead he had an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach.

For several moments Lucius stood rooted to his spot, not bothering to move Landon from his shoulder, but finally he pulled Landon away from him and held the boy at arms length, gazing at him with a blank look on his face. Landon, as he always did after spitting up, looked undeniably amused, and Draco didn't think his father would take to kindly to it. But instead of losing his cool, Lucius turned back to look at his wife, his blank look giving way to one of disgust and slight panic, and gestured for her to come get the boy. Quickly, while his mother retrieved Landon, Draco grabbed a napkin from the away bag and went to wipe the mess up off of his father's shoulder.

"That is really disgusting," Lucius whispered, so that his wife couldn't hear. "How do you put up with it?"

"I just got used to it, I guess," Draco whispered, not looking his father in the eye. Truth be told, he'd been pretty grossed out the first time Landon had gotten sick on him too, but after a while it just stopped bothering him. "Sorry about your jacket."

"Not a problem," Lucius said, as he removed the mentioned garment. Apparently, having the spit up wiped off of his clothes wasn't enough for Lucius. He didn't seem to want the jacket anywhere near him. "I'm sure it'll come clean." Surprisingly, once the jacket was removed, Lucius held his hands out for Narcissa to return Landon to his arms. Pouting, Narcissa obliged and then busied herself with sorting through the away bag. "Oh, do you have a minute before you have to leave? I want to show you what the Prophet will be printing in tomorrow mornings paper."

"Sure," Draco said, following his father as he headed towards his office, Landon in tow. "Have you heard from Skeeter yet? I'm sure she won't take this sitting down."

"She's a bit preoccupied with the investigation over her animagus status to concern herself with me at the moment." There was no denying that his father was absolutely pleased with himself; he was grinning ear to ear. "The editor owled this copy of tomorrows paper over, so I could sign off on it. He's pissing himself with worry, right now. I had our lawyers pop into his office this morning and _remind_ him of his responsibilities as head of the paper for the misrepresentation of his employees. Needless to say, I don't think the Malfoy name will grace the pages of the Prophet without my consent in the future."

"They did have my consent," Draco muttered, still not thrilled with how his father had handled this, but too glad that he'd even bothered to handle it all to say anything more about it. "It was my idea."

"No, it wasn't," Lucius corrected, a mischievous grin on his face. "It's Skeeter's word versus yours, and if you don't get in the habit of denying it, you'll probably slip up later on."

"Alright," Draco grumbled. "As he entered his father's office, Draco saw out of the corner of his eye, that a play pen had been set up over by his father's desk. It seemed like Lucius' main goal of the evening was to surprise the hell out of his son, and if that's what he was aiming for, he was definitely succeeding. Without explaining the play pens presence, Lucius lowered Lanny into it before retrieving the aforementioned edition of the Prophet from his desk and handing it to Draco.

"Whoa," Draco mumbled, "the front page? I figured they stick it somewhere in the back where fewer people were likely to see it."

"When Mr. Houser stopped by the editor's office he made it quite clear that if they were willing to print Rita's story on the front page, than they had better be willing to print the retraction there as well." The grin on Lucius' face spread even wider. "Don't you just love throwing around your authority?"

"I don't have any authority," Draco muttered, waving off his father's gloating.

"You're a Malfoy, my boy. The name alone gives you authority." Lucius pat his son on the back, before giddily, and I do mean giddily, bounding over to see his grandson, who lay in the playpen. Draco couldn't suppress his laughter at the sight of his father in so jovial a mood. It was just so uncharacteristic. Turning his attention back to the retraction, Draco began to read it over.

_As Editor of the Daily Prophet, I must inform our readers that a mistake has been made. Two days ago, Rita Skeeter authored an article about the Malfoy family, stating that Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy fortune, and Luna Lovegood, daughter of the owner and Editor of the Quibbler, were expecting their second child. It is with my deepest regrets that I inform you that Rita Skeeter fabricated the article in its entirety. Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood, though the proud parents of a son, Landon Malfoy, are **not** expecting another child. It has been brought to our attention by, none other than the head of the Malfoy line, Lucius Malfoy that Rita Skeeter was more than likely attempting to use the Malfoy name to further her status as a reporter. It is no secret that Mrs. Skeeter is known for her trivial and sometimes scathing articles. We at the Daily Prophet, find Rita Skeeter's behavior deplorable and are henceforth severing all ties with the so-called reporter. The Daily Prophet prides itself on providing up to the minute news, not gossip. I cannot express just how angered I am that Mrs. Skeeter used the Prophet as a platform for her deception. Neither can I express just how remorseful I am that two innocent lovers, such as Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood, were forced to endure a barrage of questioning and speculation. My deepest apologies to all who were affected by my former employee, Mrs. Skeeter's, lies, and to all of those who were looking forward to the arrival of the couples second child. Personally, I have had the pleasure of meeting young master Malfoy and Miss Lovegood's son, Landon, and I truly hope that the couple decide to have another child, as their son will prove to be a great addition to the Wizarding World. _

"Talk about laying it on thick," Draco laughed, playfully flopping the paper down onto his father's desk. "Rita's gonna flip."

"I know," Lucius beamed. "Ain't life grand?"

"Yes, it is," Draco said, as he glanced over at his son, not really meaning it the way his father did. This certainly wasn't how he'd expected his life to pan out but he couldn't imagine being any happier than he was now. "It definitely is."

"You really do like being a father, don't you?" Lucius asked, a grimace on his face thanks to Landon who was busy pulling his grandfathers long hair. "Ouch, not so hard."

"Yeah, I do," Draco said, nodding. "I always knew that I wanted to be a Dad and have a couple of kids, but even I didn't think it would be this fulfilling. If I never did anything else, I would honestly be able to say that I'd lived a full life because of him."

"Wow, you really have turned into a girl," Lucius laughed. Draco knew his father was only messing with him, so he didn't let the statement bother him too much. "All joking aside, I really am proud of you. You're handling fatherhood wonderfully, a hell of a lot better than I did and I was quite a bit older than you are now. Everyday, at least one person comes up to me and tells me how surprised they are that you've become such a, and I quote, 'wonderful young man and father'." Though he said it in a teasing manner, Draco knew that his father was being genuine. "Like I said, I really am proud of you."

"Thanks, father," Draco muttered, his cheeks blushing bright red. It wasn't often that his dad made it a point to compliment him, and Draco wasn't exactly sure how to handle this situation. "So, does this mean the rest of the family might cut me some slack when I pass? Lanny, don't put Grandpa's hair in your mouth." Obviously, since he didn't have the slightest idea what his father was saying, Lanny continued to slobber on the handful of Lucius' hair that was tightly clenched in his tiny fist. To Lucius' credit, he didn't seem to mind too much.

"Of course not," Lucius laughed. "They'll make sure that you know their not happy about the boy's lineage, but so long as he makes an impact on our world it shouldn't be too bad. I don't think you'll have too much to worry about. This boys going to do great things... just like his Dad will. Bye the way, we're going to have to figure out something for the boy to call me other than Grandpa."

"You really think I'll do great things," Draco asked, a skeptical look on his face. "Cause, I'm not so sure about that. Hell, I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing at the office, so how great can it get?"

"Is that why you're not actually doing your job?" Lucius asked, fighting to control his laughter. "Is that why nothings getting done at work?"

"What do you mean 'nothing'?" Draco asked, dumbfounded. "I get plenty done." Not even he could believe that one though.

"You don't have the slightest idea of what your job entails, do you?" Lucius asked, once he was able to stop laughing. Draco shook his head. "Why didn't you ask me?"

"You're not exactly the most approachable guy," Draco muttered, completely embarrassed by this revelation. He really didn't like admitting that he was intimidated, bordering on afraid of his own father. "Why didn't you tell me I wasn't doing what I was supposed to?"

"I figure you were just overwhelmed, what with the new baby and all," Lucius replied, nonchalantly. "I thought that you were stressed, so I just took care of the stuff you missed myself."

"So, you've been doing your job and my job?" the stunned blond asked.

"Well, my own job doesn't really entail much," Lucius admitted. "That's one of the perks of being the boss." Draco already knew that, but he wasn't going to let his father know he did. "If you want, tomorrow we can go over the exact details of the position."

"Thanks," Draco said, laughing awkwardly. "I'll come by your office when I get in tomorrow morning." Before Draco and his father could say anything more, there was a soft knocking at the door. Opening, Lucius revealed his wife, who had a very annoyed look on her face. "Hey, Mum."

"Can I have the baby now?" Narcissa asked, not bothering to hide her agitation. "You've been hogging him since they got here." Rolling his eyes, Lucius carefully placed the infant into his wife's arms. The moment she had Landon to herself, Narcissa's mood softened. Settling herself into her husbands chair, earning herself an annoyed look from Lucius, Narcissa asked, "So, what are you and Luna doing this evening?"

"We're going to the movies," Draco replied, walking over to his mother and leaning down to kiss both Landon and her goodbye.

"What's that?" Lucius asked, a confused look on his face, as he bent down to pick up a rattle that had found its way out of the play pen.

"It's suppose to be really cool," Draco said. "Its a moving picture show, at least that 's what Blaise calls it. I've never actually seen one, so I'll have to let you know after we do."

"Are you excited to get out for a while?" Narcissa asked, not really wanting an answer. "I remember the first time your father and I went out after you were born. Granted your father had been out plenty since your birth, I'd been cooped up for months nursing you, and your Dad came home with this gorgeous gown for me and told me to get dressed, we were going to a Ministry Ball. I had the best time. You make sure that Luna enjoys herself."

"I will," Draco promised. "Thanks again for watching Lanny. Luna and I will be by around midnight to get him."

"Are you sure you don't want your Dad to just bring him to work in the morning?" Narcissa asked, not wanting to give up the baby for the night. "It wouldn't be any trouble." Lucius nodded in agreement.

"I don't think Luna or I could take another night without him in the house," Draco admitted. "Besides, we've got to get him to Gwennie's before work anyway."

"Oh, fine," Narcissa grumbled, playfully. "Have a good time tonight, Love."

"You too." With that said, Draco hurried out of his childhood home and apparated back to his own house so he could get ready for his date with Luna.

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	22. A Long Time Coming

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 22: A Long Time Coming**

Draco couldn't believe how nervous he was. He'd been on hundreds of dates, but for some reason he was a jittery wreck. Instead of apparating home, like he should have, due to time constraints, Draco decided to walk. He'd hope the fresh air would calm his nerves, but not even that seemed to help. By the time he got back home, he'd actually managed to work himself up even more. Draco wanted his night out with Luna to go perfectly, and not just because he was hoping to score. There was no doubting that he and Luna were at a definite crossroad in their relationship, and he knew that if tonight didn't go well there was a chance that she would change her mind about giving him a shot. Granted, they'd gone out on a date before, this was by far more important than that evening had been. You'd be hard pressed to find a more crucial night than tonight, and the knowledge of this was turning Draco into a bumbling dunce.

For nearly five minutes, Draco stood on the front porch of his house, trying to convince himself that tonight was just like any other night. He knew it wouldn't work, but he figured it was worth a shot. Glancing at his watch, Draco realized that he only had half an hour to get ready, so he pushed his nervousness aside and entered the house.

Upon entering, he saw Luna, clad in her dressing robe, walking down the stairs towards him. When she saw Draco, her eyes lit up and she hurried over.

"You didn't tell me where we were going, so I don't have the slightest idea what to where," she said, perching atop her tip toes and kissing him softly on the cheek. Knowing that she was comfortable with kissing him like that, still wasn't enough to calm Draco's uneasiness.

"Right," he muttered, his cheeks blushing. Inwardly, Draco cursed himself for his constant flushing. Between his visit to his parent's house and the time he spent around Luna, he might as well just permanently change his skin pink. "I thought we'd go and see a Muggle Movie after we went by that little Italian place you like. I didn't think you'd want to do anything too fancy, since you've been at work all day. So, I just thought we'd do something relaxing."

"That's sounds fantastic," Luna chirped, wrapping her arms around Draco's neck. "I've always wanted to go to the movies, but my Dad was a little wary of them. He thought they would rot my brain or something."

"Well, I'm glad you like the idea," Draco replied, slightly comforted by her acceptance of his decision. He hadn't been sure if he should choose the movies or the theater, and he'd been flip flopping about it all day.

"Are you alright?" Luna asked, sensing that Draco seemed kind of tense. "You're acting a bit off."

"I'm fine," he lied, offering her an unconvincing smile.

"Are you too tired to go out?" Luna asked, not willing to let the subject rest. "Cause if you are, we can do this another time."

"I'm fine," Draco answered, genuinely not wanting her to worry. "I've been looking forward to this all day."

"Okay," Luna said, nodding. She'd take his word for it, but she still wasn't convinced that nothing was bothering him. "Did your Dad say something to upset you?"

"No, actually, he was acting kind of weird. He was really giddy and fussing over Landon like you wouldn't believe. It kind of weirded me out. Here's something I'm sure you'll love; Landon spit up on his jacket. He looked so disgusted and petrified, all at the same time."

"I wish I'd have seen that," Luna muttered, stifling a laugh. "Leave it to Lanny to get one over on your Dad without even trying. I'm going to go get dressed, okay?" Draco nodded, following her upstairs so he could do the same.

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Things weren't exactly going smooth for Draco, that was for sure. Granted, all of his troubles were of his own making. All day he'd been worrying himself over his date with Luna, and now that it came time for him to actually get ready for it, he was barely able to function. In his short lifetime, he'd been on loads of dates, but this one meant so much to him and he wanted it to be perfect. Under normal circumstances, Draco would simply rely on his good looks when he was getting ready for his date, especially since he knew that it really didn't matter what he wore, but tonight he found himself in the same dilemma that most witches and even Muggle women, find themselves in; he didn't know what to wear. To say that Draco felt foolish about this predicament was an understatement. It wasn't like he was going to a Ball or something; they were just going to the movies, so it didn't really matter what he wore.

Nearly thirty minutes had passed since he'd gotten out of the shower, and after searching through almost everything in his closet, most of which was now strewn across his floor, Draco had settled on a pair of relaxed fit dark denim jeans, a black and white striped, long-sleeved hooded shirt and a black leather jacket. Granted, he wasn't happy with his outfit, Draco finally headed downstairs to meet Luna. Because it had taken him so long to get dressed, the time that he'd allotted for their leisurely walk to the restaurant had been used up, so instead he knew that if they were going to make their reservations, they'd have to apparate. This bothered him all the more, as he had been looking forward to their getting to talk while they walked there.

To make matters worse, when Draco came bounding down the stairs, he found Luna sitting in one of the armchairs that were situated in the foyer, waiting for him. _'Talk about a role reversal,'_ Draco thought, as his eyes settled on his date. He couldn't help but be amused by the fact that she was the one sitting and waiting for him to finish getting ready for their date, which was typically what the guy had to do. When Luna heard him approach, she stood to greet him. Draco was floored by what he saw. He knew Luna was beautiful, but he couldn't fathom how a person could make such casual clothes look so good? Luna hadn't had nearly as hard a time choosing an outfit to wear for their date. She decided to keep it simple, so she paired dark blue, tight fitting, tapered leg jeans that she tucked into a pair of black knee high boots, with a fitted black cashmere turtleneck. Since she was far too lazy to bother with her hair, she just left it down and put on some lipgloss. All of this only took her about ten minutes, so she'd been waiting for Draco for quite some time.

"You look great," Draco said, when he finally made it over to where she was waiting for him.

"You too," she laughed, trying to figure out what had taken him so long. Luna probably wouldn't have had to think about it so hard, if she'd taken a look at the disaster area that was his bedroom. "You ready?"

"Yeah, sorry it took so long," he mumbled, feeling his cheeks warm thanks to his blushing again.

"No, problem," Luna chirped, taking a hold of his hand. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

"Absolutely," he assured her, leaning down and kissing her. "We're running a bit late, so I thought we could try sidelong apparation. That okay with you?" Luna nodded.

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Draco figured that it would be smooth sailing once they left the house, but he couldn't have been any further from the truth. He'd sidelong apparated plenty of times before with other dates, but for some reason, most likely due to his inability to focus at the moment; he kept ending up in the wrong place. Finally, after three tries and not actually arriving at the restaurant, Luna decided to take over. Luckily, her thoughts were a little more focused than his, so they finally arrived at the restaurant.

The waiter immediately recognized both Luna and Draco, and showed them to the back table, which just so happened to be Luna's favorite place to sit. This wasn't a coincidence. Draco had specifically asked that that table be left for them. He knew that Luna liked to sit in a spot where she could see everyone, as she enjoyed watching people. She'd confessed to him once before while they were there, that she liked to make up little stories about what was going on at each table. It was a game she and her father had started many years ago, and he had to admit it was actually pretty fun. So, once their orders had been placed and their drinks had been brought to the table, Luna scooted her chair around so that she was sitting as close to Draco as possible and was able to see the rooms occupants, and the pair started their little guessing game.

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"No, I'm telling you, their not married. That's his mistress," Luna argued, still not believing Draco's claim that the young couple huddled together across the restaurant were husband and wife.

"Their both wearing wedding rings," Draco scoffed, sure that he was right. They'd been going at this little game of theirs for nearly an hour, and Draco was absolutely positive that he had this couple pegged. Luna was quite good at the game, but after an hours practice Draco felt that he'd finally picked up on it. "Only married people wear wedding rings, so obviously their married."

"I don't doubt that their married," Luna countered. "Their just not married to each other."

"How the hell would you know that?" he snipped, as he signed the bill that the waiter brought over to their table. "What, are you a seer now too?"

"No," Luna laughed. "But their rings aren't part of a set. His is gold and hers is platinum. If they were married to each other their rings would most certainly match." Draco was lost for words. He couldn't figure out how he'd missed that little detail, but it was definitely a damning one no matter how much he wanted to argue it. Luna knew that she was right, and she took his lack of a response to mean that he knew that she was right too.

"You ready to go?" Draco asked, knowing that he'd been defeated. "The movie starts in about twenty minutes and we can't apparate to the actual theater or we'll scare the shit out of the Muggles. I figure we can apparate to platform 9 and 3/4. It's only a five minute walk from there."

"Sounds perfect," Luna replied, standing and letting Draco help her put on her coat. Thanks to the change in seasons, it was quite nippy outside that evening. "Do you know what the movie is about?"

"It's called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Draco said, a dead serious look on his face. Luna's eye's were wide with shock.

"What?" she asked. "They know about Harry and his first year at Hogwarts?"

"Yep," Draco replied. "Potter told them everything, and from what I hear, he's making a nice chunk of change for it."

"But then everyone will know about our world!" Luna exclaimed, seething with anger. "He just can't step out of the spotlight can he. It's like being a God in our world isn't enough for the wanker!"

"I'm just joking, Love," Draco laughed, barely able to control his temper. He hadn't actually thought she'd fall for it. "I was just screwing with you. The movies really called Saw III," he informed her, while removing a piece of paper from his pocket. "The Muggle paper's description said, '_Jigsaw has disappeared. With his new apprentice Amanda, the puppet-master behind the cruel, intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police, has once again eluded capture and vanished. While city detectives scramble to locate him, Doctor Lynn Denlon is unaware that she is about to become his latest pawn on his vicious chessboard. One night, after finishing a shift at her hospital, Lynn is kidnapped and taken to an abandoned warehouse where she meets Jigsaw, bedridden and on the verge of death. She is told that she must keep the madman alive for as long as it takes Jeff, another of his victims, to complete a game of his own. Racing against the ticking clock of Jigsaw's own heartbeat, Lynn and Jeff struggle to make it through each of their vicious tests, unaware that he has a much bigger plan for both of them...'_ Sounds creepy, doesn't it?" Draco asked.

"Just a bit," Luna replied, unsure if this was the sort of movie she'd want to see her first time out. The look on her face was priceless, Draco thought. She looked really scared, and they hadn't even left the restaurant yet.

"Don't worry, Love," he laughed. "It's just pretend."

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Luna wasn't a happy camper, that's for sure. The movie had not only been very graphic and bloody, but it had been scary as hell. She probably wouldn't sleep for weeks. Leave it to Muggles to make something so disgusting. Truth be told, though she was shocked, Luna had loved the movie. Not so much the one she'd seen, but the idea of them was wonderful. The moment they had left the theater, Luna made Draco promise her that she would get to pick the next movie that they saw.

Personally, Draco thought it was hilarious how scared Luna had gotten. Hell, he'd even been pretty disturbed by what he'd seen, but he wasn't about to let her in on that detail. At several points throughout the movie, Luna had actually screamed, along with several other girls, and one guy, in the theater. Just to screw with her, since he knew she was all worked up about the movie, while they were walking back to platform 9 and ¾, Draco trailed behind her and hid when he was sure she wasn't looking. While she was looking for him, and getting more and more scared the longer it took to find him, Draco snuck up behind her and yelled boo! Unfortunately, he hadn't actually thought this through. If he had, he would have known that Luna was a quick draw and he could have saved himself from having to experience a rather nasty bat-bogey hex. But no matter how much it smarted, Draco was sure that Luna's freaking out when he scared her was well worth it.

"You're a jerk, Malfoy," Luna snapped, as she stormed down the street, Draco trailing behind her, still laughing about how loudly she'd screamed when he snuck up on her.

"You were like, ahhh!" Draco struggled to say between laughs. "Priceless."

"Asshole," Luna mumbled, just as they reached the front door of Malfoy Manor. "Can you go get Landon please?"

"What?" he asked, finally quelling his laughter. "You're not coming in?"

"To Lucius Malfoy's house?" she asked, biting back her own sarcastic laughter. "I don't think so."

"Come on," he goaded. "My father doesn't bite... or at least I don't think he does..." Taking her hand, Draco opened the door and dragged Luna inside, ignoring her very vocal objections. Once inside, he shut the door behind them and stood in front of it so she couldn't dash out. Glaring at him, Luna conceded and allowed Draco to lead her to where Landon was being kept. As she walked through the house, Luna could see why Draco had been so eager to change up the decor of his own home. Malfoy Manor certainly wasn't inviting. Though it was definitely well cared for and lavishly decorated, it seemed like the sort of place you visited to endure endless hours of torture that would ultimately cause your death. Just as they were coming to the end of a long hallway that led to the sitting room, Luna saw a portrait of a baby on the wall.

"Draco," she said. "I didn't know you had a sister. I thought you were an only child." The portrait on the wall was of a very cute child, who couldn't have been more than a year old.

"I am," Draco said, turning to see what she was talking about. An annoyed frown formed when he realized which portrait she was looking at. "That's me." Luna didn't even bother to hide her laughter.

"You were such a dainty little baby," she joked, pinching his cheeks playfully.

"Yeah, well I bet you looked like a girl too."

"I hope so," she replied, "seeing as how I am a girl."

"Ha, ha," Draco mocked, playfully pulling her into the sitting room where he could hear his parents talking. The sight before them was quite comical. Lucius was lying down on the settee, his usually pristine clothing a wrinkled and twisted mess, with Landon lying on his chest fast asleep, while Narcissa was sitting in a nearby armchair looking at a magazine. The moment Lucius saw Draco and Luna he stood and eagerly handed the baby over.

"I don't know how you do it," Lucius said, shaking his head, his disheveled mane swinging back and forth. "He spit up on me three times. Three times!" Lucius pointed to various spots on his shirt. Using a spell, he'd managed to rid himself of the mess but apparently that wasn't enough to make him forget what had happened. "You're a saint in my book," Lucius laughed, leaning down kissing Luna on the forehead. Draco couldn't hide his laughter when he saw the look of absolute terror on Luna's face, when Lucius had kissed her. She looked like she was about to run out of the house. Without another word, the very tired looking Lucius headed for the stairs so that he could go to bed.

"I thought I'd give your father a taste of what Dobby and I had to deal with when you were a baby," Narcissa explained. "He may have made a fuss about it just now, but your father was wonderful with Landon all evening. I believe they're the best of friends... so long as he doesn't get sick on your father again. He really does fancy his shirts without baby spit up on them."

"Who doesn't," Luna joked, her nerves calming now that Lucius had left the room. Landon had long since awoken and was busy winding his little fingers in his mothers hair, while she bent down and showered him with kisses. As per usual, it didn't take long for Draco to stake his claim and remove Landon from his mother's arms.

"So, how was your movie?" Narcissa asked. Luna rolled her eyes while Draco laughed.

"The premise is fantastic," Luna answered. "Just don't let your son pick the film." Narcissa nodded, knowing exactly how mischievous Draco could be when he wanted to. "Thank you so much for watching Lanny for us. It was really nice to get out for a while, even if your son ensured that I was frightened out of my wits."

"It was my pleasure," Narcissa assured Luna, before kissing Landon and her goodnight. "Anytime you need someone to watch him, just let us know." Turning to Draco she said, "Make sure you ward the house up after you leave, Winky's already gone to bed," before kissing him goodnight and heading up stairs.

"Weird," Luna whispered.

"What's weird?"

"I guess I just had a different picture in my mind of how your family acted," she replied, as they headed for the door.

"You and everyone else," Draco said, nodding as he led his family out.

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Once they'd returned to their own home, Draco and Luna tucked Landon to bed. As they always did, they sat next to his crib and read him his bedtime story. This was mostly done out of habit, seeing as how Landon was already fast asleep and couldn't hear a word they were saying. But they'd done it like this every night for months and it was a hard habit to break. Once their story, 'The Little Broomstick that Could' was finished, Luna and Draco tip-toed out of the nursery.

This was the part of the evening that Draco had been most nervous about. He wasn't exactly sure how to go about ending his first real date with the mother of his child. He'd been stressing over this all day, but he did the only think he was sure was appropriate, he hugged her. When he pulled away and turned to head to his own bed chambers, all Luna could do was stare at him stunned. She remained in her spot until she heard his bedroom door click shut.

Angrily, Draco pulled his shirt over his head, inwardly cursing himself for being so lame. He couldn't believe he'd just hugged her goodnight... hugged! Of all of the things he could have done, he chose the single most ridiculous of the them. Hell, he'd done more than that he first time they'd had an actual conversation together. As he threw his shirt at the clothes hamper in his lavatory, Draco heard someone knocking at his door. Part of him didn't even want to open it, knowing that it was Luna coming to rag on him for being such a dork, but eventually he went to let her in.

Without saying a word, Luna reached up and took his head in her hands and kissed him goodnight, before turning to leave. Draco was lost for words, which didn't happen often. As he flopped down onto his bed, he couldn't help but feel like things between him and Luna were headed in the right direction.

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SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE. I'M STILL WAITING ON SPRINT TO SEND ME A NEW MODEM FOR MY DSL, SO MY INTERNET CONNECTION AT HOME IS STILL DOWN. I HAD TO WAIT UNTIL I GOT BACK TO WORK TO UPLOAD THIS. THE UPSIDE IS, I'VE GOT CHAPTERS 22 THRU 24 READY TO POST, SO THERE WILL BE SEVERAL UPDATES WITHIN THE NEXT DAY OR SO.

THANKS AND ENJOY : )

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	23. Hungry For Some Lovin'

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 23: Hungry For Some Lovin'**

Draco had slept like a baby. Not even Landon yelling at the top of her lungs could have woken the young father that night. He'd been stressing over his date with Luna so much that he'd managed to completely exhaust himself. So needless to say, the moment his head hit the pillow, the previous night, Draco was fast asleep. He hadn't even heard his alarm going off that morning. He'd been so wrapped up in his thoughts of their date, that Draco didn't remember that since it was Friday night, he didn't need to have his alarm wake him for work the following morning. Luna wasn't exactly thrilled to be startled awake by the blaring of Draco's alarm clock at five-thirty, and she made sure that he knew it. The first time she tried to wake him, Draco just waved her off and turned over, trying to go back to sleep, but when she put the pillow over his face and held it there for a few seconds... well, let's just say she got his attention.

Instead of heading back to her own room and getting a few more hours of sleep, Luna allowed a slightly disgruntled Draco to drag her down into his own bed, where the pair cuddled up together. Usually, when she was awakened so abruptly, Luna found it nearly impossible to fall back asleep, but thanks to the lulling warmth that Draco's body provided, she was fast asleep in no time.

It was another two hours before Luna and Draco woke back up, this time to the sound of a very upset Landon screaming his head off. It was about an hour earlier than when he usually woke, but apparently Landon didn't really care. He was hungry and he didn't give a damn what time it was. Sleepily, Luna stumbled her way into the nursery and retrieved her fussy son. Thankfully, once out of his crib, Landon quieted down, so Luna returned to Draco's bed with the baby and handled nursing him there. When he felt the bed shift due to Luna's weight, Draco finally acknowledged the fact that he was actually awake, and opened his eyes.

"Morning," he mumbled, raising his hand to stroke the small of Luna's back while she nursed his son. Peeking over her shoulder, Luna looked down at Draco and smiled. "You look beautiful."

"Someone's looking to get laid, isn't he?" Luna asked, playfully. Leaning back and kissing him quickly before returning to an upright position, knowing that if she interrupted Landon's feeding for too long he'd pitch another fit.

"I was just making an observation," Draco replied, as he sat up, the covers sliding down to rest on his lap. "How did you sleep?"

"Wonderfully," Luna replied.

"So, you enjoyed sleeping in here with me than?" he asked, his questions leading.

"I always do," she answered, just as Landon finished nursing. Handing the boy to his father, Luna covered herself up and lay back down, resting her head on Draco's shoulder.

For nearly an hour, Luna and Draco just lay in bed, dozing in and out of consciousness, while Landon did the same while laying on his daddy's chest. As Draco lay there, he couldn't help but think that life was perfect. Whenever he'd imagined his relationship with his future children, this was the sort of situation he thought of; not lavishing them with expensive gifts, though he was sure he would do that too. Draco had always looked forward to the more intimate moments that he would share with his family.

After an hour of lazing about and trying to ignore the persistent growling of Draco's stomach, Luna finally rose, retrieving Landon from his place on his father's chest so that she could give him a quick bath and get him changed, before heading downstairs to start breakfast. Draco was glad she was so intuitive. He was starving, but he had been enjoying their time together so much that he didn't quite have the heart to ask her to make breakfast.

Once breakfast was done, Luna loaded up a tray with the French toast, eggs and fruit salad she had made, along with a pitcher of orange juice, and headed back upstairs. Just as Draco had, Luna too had enjoyed their morning together. There was something so relaxing about waking up next to the warm, inviting body of someone you cared for, that mad you not want to get up at all. So instead of working on some of her articles from the house like she'd planned, Luna decided that she, Draco and Landon would all spend the day lazing about together. The first part of their day would consist of breakfast in bed and some more cuddling. Even if Draco didn't want to spend his Saturday in this manner, Luna didn't plan on giving him a choice.

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Luckily, Draco was thrilled with the idea of spending his Saturday in bed with the mother of his child. He was especially thrilled when she brought breakfast up to him. He had been able to smell it while she was cooking, and it had been torturous for his empty stomach to endure the wait. As always, breakfast was delicious, and after Luna had spelled the dishes away, Draco decided to try to broach an issue that had been on his mind as of late.

"So, you said that you've always enjoyed sleeping in here with me?" Draco asked, nervously, retrieving his wand from his bedside table so he could spell the blinds shut. When he leaned over to get it, the covers shifted to reveal to Luna that he was naked underneath. Luna already knew that he slept naked, especially since she'd been cuddled up next to him under the covers earlier that morning, but the sight of the upper portion of his naked rear still made her blush profusely and caused that familiar twitch in the pit of her stomach. "Like what you see?" Draco asked, playfully, as he caught Luna checking out his butt.

"Immensely," she replied, trying her best to look like she wasn't embarrassed by being caught.

"Good to know," he replied, as he charmed the blinds Luna had opened when she brought breakfast up, shut. "Well, if you enjoy sleeping in here, and I enjoy you sleeping in here; I was thinking that maybe we could start sharing a room. It wouldn't take long to remodel."

"Why would we remodel?" Luna asked, confused. "The house is beautiful just the way it is."

"I agree," he said quickly. "We would just need to add a second lavatory, since its really not proper for us to share one, nor do I think you'd want to; plus we'd need to expand the closet big time, because mine is full and I've seen how full your's is, and your closet is even bigger than mine." For several very long moments, Luna was absolutely silent, apparently pondering her decision. Finally, she turned to a very nervous Draco and answered.

"Absolutely. I'd loved to."

"Really?" Draco asked, trying to appear less giddy than he really was. He had expected her to put up a bit of a fight, but she hadn't, and Draco wasn't quite sure of what to make of it. She fought him tooth and nail on just about every big decision they'd ever had to make; hell, she was still refusing to even consider having Landon's last name changed. "You really want to share a room with me?"

"Don't sound so surprised, Draco," she said, sweetly, turning over onto her side to face him and gently cupping his face in her hand, Luna's thumb gently stroking his skin. "You make a wonderful bed mate. You're very good at cuddling. I'd highly recommend that every witch have the opportunity to cuddle with you at some point in her life. It's a real treat."

"I hope you don't really mean that," he joked.

"I don't," she assured him. "If another witch even thinks about touching you, I'll gouge the little whore's eyes out. And you can pass that on to Cho Chang, if you'd like."

"Jealous, are we?"

"Do I have reason to be?" Luna asked, the playful smile on her face fading away.

"No," he replied, his face too devoid of any hint of humor. "None at all. I've got everything I want; there will never be anyone else. Never."

"Good to know," Luna said, leaning over and kissing him. Little did she know, or maybe she did know and this was her aim all along, but that one kiss led to a very nice afternoon filled with the fantastic shagging that only Draco Malfoy could provide.

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It was just after two that afternoon when Draco and Luna had finally exhausted themselves. It hadn't been all that long since they'd last made love, but in a situation like theirs, where emotions and desires were always running at full speed, a week or two seemed like an eternity. As Luna cuddled up next to him after having returned from checking on and nursing Landon, she heard his stomach growling again.

"Are you kidding me?" she laughed, turning around to face him. Draco too was laughing.

"What can I say, I'm a growing boy," he replied. "Besides, I just worked hard; worked all of my breakfast off, in fact."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Don't worry about it now," he told her. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Luna asked, sounding a bit worried. "Did you change your mind about sharing a room?"

"Merlin, no!" Draco exclaimed, resting his hand on the curve of her hip as he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "I just wanted to talk about Lanny's last name." Luna huffed loudly, wondering why he would want to go and ruin such a wonderful day with this crap. "I just don't understand why you're so apposed to our son having my last name. It's not like you're denying that I'm his father, so I just don't seen your reasoning."

"Ever since he was born, he's been Landon Lovegood. Why change it?"

"He's my son... He's a Malfoy... why not?" Draco asked, unable to come up with anything else. To him, it was so cut and dry. He couldn't fathom what the big deal was. "I don't want to argue about this, so if thats what this is going to lead to, let me know and I'll shut up about it... for now. But eventually, and hopefully its before my father tries to get involved again, we're going to have to sort this out."

"I'm going to go make us something to eat," Luna mumbled, standing and wrapping her dressing robe around herself. Draco tried to convince her to stay, he really didn't want her to be angry, but it was a subject that they did need to sort out. Draco couldn't help but feel like it was an issue that needed to be addressed as soon as possible. He didn't want it to wait until Landon was old enough to have to deal with the repercussions and confusion that a name change could bring on.

The entire way to the kitchen, Luna muttered angrily to herself. Anytime Draco had ever broached this subject before, Luna had immediately dismissed his argument and went about her business. But for some reason, now his words were beginning to affect her. Granted, Draco wasn't really able to make much of an argument for why Landon's name should be changed, other than the fact that he was the boy's father, Luna had an even harder time trying to rationalize why she shouldn't have Landon's last name changed. It was typical for the child to take the father's last name, just as she had done, just as almost everyone does; so she really wasn't able to come up with a good reason to stop Landon Lovegood from becoming Landon Malfoy. Luna's teetering on conceding with Draco's request didn't get any better the longer she thought about it. As she situated their lunch on a tray, Luna still wasn't sure what she would say to him when she returned upstairs, but she didn't think she could stall any longer.

"I didn't know what you wanted, so I made us some some pasta," Luna said, trying to sound chipper.

"Look," Draco said, sounding defeated. "I didn't mean to upset you..."

"Don't apologize," Luna interrupted. "You're right. Landon is your son. If we'd met, gotten married and then had him, I wouldn't have thought twice about him having your last name. Granted, we don't seem to be a pair that's fond of doing things in their proper order, I don't really see how things are different. So, we can have Landon's last name changed to Malfoy."

"You sure?" Draco asked, shocked but not wanting her to make a decision that she would regret later on. "I don't want you to be upset about it."

"I won't be." She assured him. "Lanny is a Malfoy, just like his father and I wouldn't change that for the world. Besides, I think he'll be able to do great things with the Malfoy name backing him."

"Funny, my father said almost the exact same thing," Draco laughed.

"Great, I'm starting to resemble you father now," Luna sighed, dramatically. Approaching her, Draco began undoing the tie of her robe, baring her body to his view.

"Trust me, Love," he whispered, close to her ear. "You don't resemble my father in the slightest."

"I thought you were tired," Luna reminded him, as he trailed kisses down the column of her neck and down to her chest.

"Not anymore," he said, his voice low and husky. Their lunch long forgotten, Draco pulled Luna down onto the bed with him.

"I thought you were hungry," she laughed, his hands lightly grazing the sides of her torso causing her to laugh even more.

"I am hungry," he assured her, his voice taking on a playful tone. "Hungry for some lovin'!"

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I FINISHED UP CHAPTER 25 LAST NIGHT, SO I'M PRETTY SURE I'M JUST GOING TO PROOFREAD THEM ALL AND POST THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME, SO EXPECT QUITE A FEW UPDATES. I'M REALLY, REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT DRACO DOES IN CHAPTER 25 AND I THINK YOU'RE ALL GOING TO LIKE IT, SO THAT'S WHY I'M IN SUCH A HURRY TO GET IT POSTED. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK : )

AS ALWAYS, THANKS A MILLION FOR ALL OF YOUR KIND REVIEWS : ) AND PLEASE EXCUSE THE GOOFY TITLE OF THIS CHAPTER, I WAS IN A SILLY MOOD THIS MORNING.

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	24. Changes

**Happenstance **

**Chapter 24: Changes**

Draco was right when he'd said that it would take no time for their house to be remodeled to fit their new living arrangements. In just a few hours time, Luna's bed chambers had been converted into a huge playroom for Landon to use once he was a bit older, and Draco' s chambers had been modified to contain an extra lavatory and a closet that was twice the size of the original one. Luna loved their new living arrangements. It had only been two weeks since they'd begun sharing a room together and her sleeping habits had improved immensely. Ever since Landon had been born, Luna found it difficult to sleep through the entire night, convinced that she needed to check on him every few hours, but now that she was sharing a bed with Draco, Luna didn't have any trouble sleeping through the night; only waking when Landon was actually crying out for her. She couldn't believe how comforting it was to have someone next to her at night, and it was a feeling that Luna didn't plan on letting slip away anytime soon.

Luna wasn't the only one enjoying their new arrangement. Draco was in heaven too. Not only did he enjoy the fact that she was always at his side during the night, but their sharing a bed greatly increased the frequency of their sex life. That hadn't been Draco's reason for asking her to share a room with him, but it was definitely a perk; one that he was enjoying to the fullest extent.

Draco had been really excited when Luna agreed to change Landon's last name to Malfoy, but he hadn't actually expected her to do it. But Luna had kept good on her word and the following business day after they had made the decision, the couple, along with their son, showed up at the Ministry so that they could have Landon's last name changed.

At first the Ministry employee was shocked to see that they were there to change the baby's surname. Shortly after word had gotten out that Draco was the father of Luna's son, several articles had been printed making false claims about their situation. Some of the articles had been absolutely ridiculous, especially the ones that were trying to determine how the admittedly unexpected couple had first gotten together. One of the few pieces of information that had been correct had been printed by, big surprise here, Rita Skeeter. She had interviewed the medi-witches who had been present during Landon's birth and they had all made it very clear that Luna had put up a big fuss over the naming of her son. Typically, the child bears the surname of the father, but Luna absolutely refused to tell them who the father was, instead she insisted that Landon have her last name.

Once the Ministry employee was able to get over her shock of seeing Luna in the office to change Landon's surname, the process went fairly quick. Within just under an hours time, Landon Cooper Lovegood became Landon Cooper Malfoy.

Normally, name changes were listed in the Daily Prophet, but Draco wanted to surprise his father with the news, so instead he requested that it be kept quiet. The only problem was that once Draco figured out what exactly his job entailed, he suddenly found himself a lot busier than he'd previously been. This made it difficult for him to arrange a time for him and Luna to fill their families in on the news. Deciding that she was tired of keeping secrets, Luna went ahead and put together a family dinner so that they could tell both his parents and hers. Luna figured that if they didn't hurry up and tell their families about the change of Landon's name, someone else would. It had already been over two weeks since the change had taken place and Luna knew their secret was bound to come out.

"Draco!" Luna shouted from the kitchen, as she situated the veal chops she had just finished preparing on the plates. When Draco didn't answer, she called out for him again, "Draco!"

"Yeah?" he asked, as he walked into the kitchen with Landon in tow. He was dressed in a very dapper black suit. Instead of wearing a tie, Draco had elected to leave the first few buttons of his shirt undone, going for a slightly more casual look. "Did you need help with something?"

"I just wanted to make sure that Landon was dressed and ready," she chirped, leaning over to kiss him as he walked passed. _'We are so bloody domestic,'_ Luna thought, laughing quietly to herself.

"Is there anything I can do to help so you can go get dressed?" Draco asked, lying Landon down in a nearby bassinet. "I'm not much of a cook, actually I suck at it, but if you want me to watch the food for you, I can."

"Actually, all that's really left is for the steamed asparagus and the potatoes to be put on the plates with the veal chops, and then stick a warming charm on them, so they don't get cold. Do you think you can manage that for me?"

"Absolutely," Draco chirped, removing his blazer and rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. Clapping his hands together loudly, signaling that he was ready to begin, Draco started dishing out the vegetables while Luna dashed upstairs to get dressed.

Since she'd showered, curled her hair and put on her makeup before she began cooking supper, all Luna had to do was get her dress on. Ever since her last encounter with Draco's parents, Luna was a great deal more comfortable with the idea of being around them. So instead of trying to impress them with some fantastic gown, Luna decided to dress more like her usual self. She had elected to wear a floaty, cap sleeved, mini baby doll dress that fell to the upper thigh. The fun, flirty dress was made of a chiffon material that had large bright flowers over a black background. Luna completed her look with a pair of black panty hose and metallic, seafoam-green, strappy platform sandals, that matched some of the flowers on the dress.

Just as she heard their guests arrive, Luna was checking her hair, which she had left down and curled, in the mirror. Once she was sure she was satisfied with how she looked, Luna grabbed a pashmina from the closet and headed downstairs.

Apparently, Luna wasn't the only one who was feeling more comfortable with visiting the newest members of their family, as Lucius and Narcissa had both toned down their usual ostentatious apparel. Luna had to stifle a giggle; she was sure that Lucius hadn't dressed up because he was afraid that Landon would get sick on him again, but she wasn't about to mention it.

A few moments after Lucius and Narcissa had arrived, Luna's father, along with Rosmerta, knocked at the door. Once the necessary greetings had been exchanged, Luna directed everyone towards the dining room. To Luna's surprise, as they were walking, Lucius Malfoy came up behind her and looped his arm with hers before leaning down and whispering so that only she could hear him.

"You look absolutely lovely this evening, Miss Lovegood," Lucius whispered, offering her a confident smile.

"Thank you, Sir," she muttered, unsure of what else to say. Deep down, Luna was wondering just what he had up his sleeve. She'd been trying to give the elder Malfoy the benefit of the doubt, but his behavior was just too uncharacteristic to not make her suspicious.

"Call me Lucius," he corrected. That allowance threw Luna for a bit of a loop; it would certainly take some getting used to, that's for sure. "My son seems happier than I've ever seen him before."

"I hope he is," Luna replied, a small smile on her face. "I know I am."

"Believe it or not, my dear, I want my son to be happy," Lucius informed her. "Clearly, he's happy with you, and I can see why. I'm looking forward to the day you actually join our family."

"What?" Luna asked, stunned. "Draco and I haven't even talked about marriage lately."

"I know that," Lucius assured Luna. "But its only a matter of time before he brings it up. My son is not a patient boy... err, man, and he's been talking about marrying you since the day he told us that Landon was his son. You're destined to be a Malfoy, my dear, so I suggest that you accept it. Besides, there are worse things that could happen."

"Draco hasn't brought marriage up in a while, but we'll cross that road when we get their," Luna replied, suddenly very uncomfortable with how close Lucius was to her. It was in that moment, that Luna realized just what she was up against; at no point in her life had she ever expected thoughts of Lucius Malfoy being hot to cross her mind. If Draco turned out to be half as persuasive as his father was, she would never stand a chance when he did decide to bring up marriage again; not that she was completely opposed to the idea.

"Luna," Narcissa exclaimed. "This smells fantastic! What did you make this time?"

"Oh, it's veal chops with asparagus, new potatoes and white corn for the main course. Cream of broccoli soup for starters, and what I hope is a to die for chocolate souffle, for dessert."

"Sounds wonderful," Luna's father said, a proud smile on his face. "But what are you having, Love. You don't eat meat."

"I've got some pasta with seasoned tofu made for me," Luna said, happily, glad that her menu was going over so well. "If any of you want that instead, you're more than welcome to have some, there's plenty." The room erupted in a mass of polite mumbling; apparently no one else found tofu to be an appetizing food. "Point taken," she joked.

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All throughout dinner, Luna and Draco had been passing each other nervous glances, neither exactly sure of when it would be best to inform their families about the changes that had recently taken place. Though they thought that they were being secretive, nearly everyone else seated at the table noticed their frequent exchanging of glances. As Luna served dessert, Lucius finally spoke up about it.

"Is there something that you two wanted to tell us?" Lucius asked, nearly causing Luna to trip and drop his souffle on his head. Draco and Luna looked at each other with panicked looks on their faces. "Just spit it out," Lucius sighed.

"Go ahead, Draco," Luna said. "Spit it out."

"Oh, well, we just wanted you all to know that Landon's last name has been changed to Malfoy. We took care of it two weeks ago," Draco informed them all, nervously.

"That's wonderful!" Lucius said, sounding genuinely ecstatic over the news. "I really am glad to hear that."

"Me too," Luna's father said, as he stood and went to give his daughter a kiss. "I told you when Lanny was born that you might as well just give him his father's last name. It would have saved you a trip to the Ministry, that's for sure."

"I know, Daddy," Luna laughed. "You were right and I was wrong." She'd expected that reaction from him, but that didn't mean she wanted to hear it.

"We're sleeping together too," Draco blurted out, realizing his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. Luna stared at him, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe he'd just brought up their sex life with their parents.

"I figured as much," Lucius replied, rolling his eyes. "Are you that excited to be getting some on a regular basis that you feel the need to announce it at the dinner table? Really, I'm quite sure your mother and I raised you better than that."

"No," Draco amended. "I didn't mean that we were shagging. I mean we are but... I meant that we're staying in the same room now. Luna's old room is now a playroom for Lanny when he's a bit older."

"Oh," Lucius said, nodding. "Well I'm glad to hear that things are on track for your relationship as well. Very glad to hear it." Lucius gave Luna a knowing smile, causing her to blush slightly. Little did Luna know, but Lucius was purposefully toying with her. He wasn't planing on making a move on the love of his son's life or anything, but when Narcissa had brought up her crush on his father a few weeks back, Lucius had vowed to pass on that little tradition. After all, he was a great deal more attractive than his own father had been, why shouldn't Luna find him attractive?

"So, does this mean that you're getting married?" Rosmerta chimed in, sounding very excited.

"No!" both Luna and Draco exclaimed. Luna answered so quickly solely because she didn't want to open that can of worms just yet, while Draco did so because he didn't want Luna to feel pressured. But since neither knew the other's reason for objecting so profusely, they were unsettled by it. "At least not yet," Draco corrected. "We're still very young, so we're going to take things one step at a time."

"Right... what he said," Luna agreed. Deep down, Luna didn't really know if she agreed with his statement. Now that they were making a conscious effort at their relationship, Luna had to admit that the thought of marriage had crossed her mind on more than one occasion.

"So long as you know that inevitably you'll have to marry, I don't see what waiting a while could damage," Lucius said, shrugging his shoulders.

"What do you me 'inevitably'?" Luna asked, not liking his insinuating that she didn't have a choice in the matter. "I don't see why Draco and I ever _have_ to get married."

"Well, my dear. Having children with more than one woman is not allowed in the Malfoy family. If Draco ever wanted to have another baby, he'd have to have him or her with you. And since the two of you have already had a child together, he can never marry anyone other than you. This is my family's way of making sure that the Malfoy fortune, not only remains in the Malfoy family but that it remains a fortune. Dispersal between too many children causes the fortune to dwindle... and we wouldn't want that to happen now would we?"

"What do I care?" Luna snapped, as she turned to Draco. "Why didn't you mention this before?"

"I didn't think it would be an issue. Besides, I don't want to marry anyone other than you, so it doesn't really bother me," Draco explained. "If I can't be with you than I don't want to be with anyone."

"Aww," both Narcissa and Rosmerta sighed, looking at Draco adoringly.

"What about Cho Chang?" Luna snapped, ignoring the other women's reactions.

"She was easy and you weren't letting me get too comfy with you, what was I supposed to do?" he laughed, not wanting his father's proclamation to ruin their evening.

"Jack off," she replied, tersely, causing Narcissa and Mr. Lovegood to practically choke on their souffle. After a few moments of silence, nearly everyone else, save for Luna, burst into laughter. The sight of Lucius laughing so hard he was near tears, was enough to make even Luna start to giggle. Though it took a few minutes, everyone finally settled down, and the room was overtaken by a very awkward silence.

"Luna," Lucius said, breaking the deafening quiet. "I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't know that you were unaware of that stipulation. And though I hate to do it, I feel that you and Draco must also be informed of this... _precaution_ that my ancestors have taken."

"What else could there possibly be?" Draco asked, sounding completely caught off guard. "These _ancestors_ are really starting to annoy me."

"Well, they do that to all of the Malfoy men at some point, so get used to it," Lucius sighed, knowing exactly how his son was feeling. "Now this... precaution I was telling you about, is more of a folk lore than fact. But I can assure you, even though it hasn't been proven, it's very much a truth. Many of the Malfoy men before you have had their first child out of wedlock. Later on, when they tried to marry a witch who had not mothered their first child, their binding was refused. No matter how many times they tried to bind themselves to one another, they couldn't. To make matters all the more complicated, not only do the wizards have to deal with this precaution but so do the witches that they fathered a child with. Anytime one of those witches has ever tried to bind herself to someone other than the Malfoy wizard who got her pregnant, that binding too was impossible. Numerous times, Malfoy men have had very _haphazard _relations with witches and yet not one ever fathered child with any witch other than the one that gave birth to their first child. More or less, what I'm trying to say, is your stuck with each other."

"That's rubbish," Luna scoffed. "Not to mention impossible."

"This is magic we're talking about, dear," Lucius replied, cockily. "Nothing is impossible."

"Bloody hell," Draco said, laughing. Truth be told, he was actually quite comforted by the fact that Luna wouldn't be able to marry anyone else, he just didn't want her to know that he was happy about it. "That's a lot to take in."

"I'll say," Luna laughed, awkwardly.

"Me too," her father piped in, looking a bit paler than usual. "Well, since we're all talking about marriage, I guess now is as good a time as any to announce that Rosie and I were bound to one another last weekend... Surprise!" Draco didn't give Luna the chance to react to her father's news; he quickly clasped his hand over her mouth and ushered her out of the dining hall and towards the atrium. Once Draco had secured a silencing charm on the room, he removed his hand from Luna's mouth. It didn't take more than a second for her to make it very clear exactly how she felt about the bombshell her father had just dropped.

"That stupid fucking homewrecker!" she shouted, her pale face turning bright red. "She's just going to sit there like I stupid skank, wearing her stupid skank clothes, and trailing after my stupid skank father..."

"You just called your Dad a skank," Draco laughed, unable to stop himself. Draco didn't have a chance to say another word because Luna threw herself at him, causing them both to fall back onto a nearby loveseat. In no time, the pair were a tangle of arms and legs, as they kissed each other passionately. Draco had never known Luna to be so forward before and he certainly did know where her sudden need to shag him had come from, but he wasn't about to start asking questions. If she equated being angry to shagging him senseless, he was a happy camper.

It hardly took her a minute to rid him of his blazer, oxford and undershirt; she'd even managed to remove her shoes, pantyhose and knickers. As she straddled his lap, Draco happened to glance over her shoulder and caught sight of all of their guests staring at them through the glass walls of the atrium. It took Draco several moments to realize that his and Luna's families were watching, but when he did he panicked and jumped up, sending a very startled Luna crashing to the floor.

"What's the matter with you?" Luna exclaimed, reaching up from her position on the floor at his feet and trying to undo his pants.

"Luna," he said, swatting her hand away. She didn't get the picture, instead she tried to remove his pants again. "Luna, we have company." Draco pointed towards the group outside of the glass atrium. When she finally saw them, Luna's entire body turned bright red and she buried her face against his thighs. Begrudgingly, Draco removed the silencing charm from the room and went to retrieve Landon from Mr. Lovegood's arms. "Hi."

"Hi," everyone greeted, trying to stifle their laughter.

"We're going to go ahead and head on home," Lucius said, eying his half naked son with a look of pride. At his words, everyone turned to leave.

Just before he lost sight of his guests, Draco remembered that there was something he had wanted to talk to his father about; something that was really important.

"Father, wait up!" Draco shouted, jogging to catch up with him. Before he addressed his father, Draco turned to Luna's father and whispered, "Just give her a couple of days. Once the shock wears off, she'll be fine."

"I knew this would be hard for her to take," Mr. Lovegood said, smiling knowingly. "That's why we didn't mention it before now. You guys have a lot on your plate right now, so Rosie and I just went down to the Ministry and had the binding taken care of. Maybe in a few years we'll have an actual ceremony, but for now all we really needed was each other."

"Congratulations, Mr. Lovegood," Draco said, genuinely meaning it. He knew that Luna was only reacting out of shock; she was very protective of her father and he didn't doubt it would take her a few days to come to terms with what he had told her. "I'm sure you two will be very happy together."

"We will," Luna's father said, a bright smile on his face. "You just make sure that my daughter and grandson stay as happy as they are now."

"Will do," Draco said, offering him a mock salute.

Once everyone except for his mother and father were gone, Draco turned to them and asked in a very low voice, "I need some help with procuring a highly restricted artifact, and I'm pretty sure that you're the only person with enough pull to get his hands on one." Draco could tell his father liked his choice of words. Power and Lucius Malfoy went hand in hand, there was no doubting that, and Lucius loved it.

"What did you need?" Lucius asked, not sure of what his son would need with something the Ministry had placed restrictions on. Leaning in closely, so that only his parents could hear him, Draco told them what it was.

"Those are impossible to come by," Lucius said, shaking his head. "Not even I can manage that. I'm pretty sure that I'm the last person the Ministry would let get near one of those, for fear of what I might do with it."

"I've got one," Narcissa chimed in, a proud smile on her face. Both Lucius and Draco stared at her in shock.

"You do?" Lucius asked, not sounding too happy. "And why wasn't I informed of this?"

"Because I didn't want you to have that sort of power at hand," she replied, matter of factly. "I'll bring it by tomorrow morning."

"Thanks, Mum," Draco said, sounding relieved. Kissing his mother and shaking his father's hand, Draco bid them farewell before turning back and heading towards the atrium to _tend_ to his frustrated girlfriends needs.

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	25. Hands of Time

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 25: Hands of Time**

Just as promised, Narcissa brought the item her son had requested night before over to his house. She'd made it a point to come by Draco's house early that Monday morning since she knew that both Luna and her son had to get ready for work. She'd been quite surprised when she'd stood outside knocking for nearly fifteen minutes and no one answered. Finally she'd just let down the wards Draco had put up, which luckily were the exact same wards his father had set up at Malfoy Manor; _'like father like son,' _Narcissa thought, as she stepped into her son's home. She knew that they weren't up yet, since the entire lower level was still pitch black, thanks to it being just before five-fifteen. Lighting her wand, Narcissa carefully and quietly tiptoed upstairs towards Draco's room. The closer she got to the room the more obvious it became that they were_ up_ they just weren't '_up'_ yet; their moans being a dead give away. If the trinket her son was after hadn't been so rare and expensive, Narcissa would have just left it along with a note, and let herself out of the house, so as not to disturb their alone time; but unfortunately these things were so hard to come by that she just wasn't willing to do that. Begrudgingly, Narcissa tapped at the bedroom door. When no one answered her knocking, Narcissa tapped harder and called out to them softly.

"Draco, Luna," she said. "It's me. I've got the ti..." before she even had a chance to finish her statement, Draco came barreling out of the room with his bed sheet clenched tightly around his hips.

"Hi, Mum," Draco said, sounding out of breath and looking quite disheveled as he shut the door behind him. "Can we keep this whole thing quiet. I don't want Luna to know about it."

"Sure, Love," she said, untucking her handkerchief from the hem of her sleeve and wiping a few stray beads of sweat from his forehead. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think that she'd be standing in front of her son wiping away the sweat he'd developed while shagging the mother of his child; it was surreal really. "What exactly are you planning on doing with this anyway?"

"I'd like to keep it a secret for now," Draco said, not wanting to upset his Mum after she'd gone through the trouble of helping him out. "I haven't exactly ironed out all of the details yet."

"Well, promise me that before you start messing around with this thing, you'll iron out all of the details first," Narcissa asked. "The last thing I need is for you to get in trouble for causing irreparable damage. Keep in mind, the tiniest of details can completely alter the way things have turned out, and you of all people, have a great deal lose."

"So you're basically saying not to fuck it up," Draco summized.

"More or less," Narcissa agreed. "And watch your language."

"Thanks Mum," Draco said, as his mother headed down the stairs and he headed back inside the room. Before rejoining Luna in bed, Draco quickly headed over to the jacket he had out to wear to work that morning, and dropped his newest acquisition into the pocket, without Luna being any the wiser.

"What did your Mum need?" Luna asked, lifting up the covers and inviting Draco in.

"She left her shawl here last night and just wanted to come and get it before we left for work," he lied. Luna nodded and let the subject rest, more than ready to pick up where they'd left off.

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Luckily for Draco, Luna's mind had bee elsewhere that morning. Otherwise, she never would have believed that his mother had left her shawl at their house the night before. Luna had been meticulous while cleaning up after their guests and she'd never noticed his mother's shawl lying anywhere. If Luna hadn't bought his excuse for why his mother had come over so early, Draco didn't know what he would have done. The plan he had running through his head had been nagging him for weeks and he was pretty sure that it would prove successful, so the last thing he wanted to do was ruin the surprise. The only downside to what he was doing was that he was having to lie a great deal more than he would have liked, but being the Malfoy that he was, Draco was more than just good at it, provided he had enough time to think his lies through. When it came to lying on the spot, he was down right terrible at it.

Just like that morning when he'd had to lie, Draco told Luna that he was heading to the office when in reality he was actually meeting Blaise and Goyle at a nearby coffee house. As soon as he had a chance last night, which coincidentally was after Luna had fallen asleep, Draco owled two of his oldest friends and asked them to meet him the following morning; he had something he needed them to help him with. Try as they might, Blaise and Goyle tried to get Draco to tell them what all of this was about ahead of time, but he remained tight lipped, promising them that it would be a blast. Begrudgingly, the pair agreed to meet him.

"Merlin," Draco groaned, cradling his gloved hands around the warm coffee cup as he sat outside of the coffee house waiting for his friends. He'd made it quite clear that they were to meet him at seven-thirty sharp, but it was already five till eight and neither had shown up yet. Wishing he had sat inside, Draco cursed his best mates under his breath.

"Watch your language, Malfoy," the familiar sound of Blaise's voice called out, as the young Italian wizard approached. "Sorry, but Quidditch practice ran late," Blaise explained. After graduating from Hogwarts, the former Slytherin had applied for a spot on his favorite team and had immediately been accepted. Even during off season, he was required to spend his mornings attending grueling practice sessions with the rest of his team. "Where's Greg?"

"Late," the disgruntled blond mumbled. "As always."

"I'm not always late," Goyle interrupted, quietly approaching his friends. Unlike Blaise, Goyle had surprised everyone and had accepted a job in the Ministry, working in the Department of Magical Safety. It was no secret that Goyle was all brawn, and the Ministry wasn't willing to let so physically powerful a wizard slip through there fingers. This meant that Greg Goyle spent his days investigating claims and suspicions of abuse of magical powers. Needless to say, if you saw Goyle approaching, you'd better be worried; he looked ready to break knee caps, and not even his finely tailored suits could soften his threatening persona. "Just sometimes."

"Well, nice of you both to finally show up," Draco replied, snidely. Both Goyle and Blaise knew that their friend was only messing with them, so they didn't take his words to heart.

"So, what's this little pow-wow about?" Goyle asked, pulling out a chair and straddling it, before signaling for the waitress to bring him a menu. "Thanks sweetie," he said, winking at the pretty waitress.

"Can you focus?" Draco said, smacking him on the back of the head lightly.

"Not when a pretty face is around," Goyle answered.

"Pretty?" Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes. "She's awfully plain..."

"So, what are we doing here?" Blaise interjected, not wanting to listen to Draco and Goyle get into a discussion about whether or not the waitress was attractive enough to merit a second glance.

"Someone's grouchy this morning," Goyle joked, playfully grabbing onto Blaise's shoulder and shaking him a bit. "What? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"No," Blaise replied. "I woke up in the center of my bed, surrounded by two very beautiful blond witches..."

"Bullshit," Draco laughed, before taking a long sip of his warm coffee. "Like you'd be able to find one witch who'd shag you, let alone two of them. That would be nothing short of a miracle."

"What's a miracle is that you're shagging Luna Lovegood," Goyle said, shaking his head in disbelief. "She turned into a hottie, didn't she?"

"Uh huh," Blaise agreed. "I didn't see that one coming. Did you see the article in the Prophet a few weeks back that listed her as one of the hottest unwed witches. That picture of her was pretty fantastic."

"I didn't see that," Draco said, not quite sure of what his friend was talking about.

"Just before your Dad had Skeeter fired, she did her annual list of the top ten hottest unwed witches and wizards. You placed number one on the wizards list... as always, and Looney was...

"Her name is Luna and I'm not telling you again," Draco warned.

"Luna," Blaise corrected, rolling his eyes at Draco's defensive behavior, "placed number two on the witches list."

"Who'd they put above her?" Draco snapped, unable to believe that someone could have been considered more attractive than his Luna; but then again, he was partial.

"Granger," Goyle answered. All three wizards had disgusted looks on their faces. "I know, gross isn't it."

"Yeah. It just proves that even the ugliest witch can be beautiful if she's best friends with the savior of the Wizarding World," Blaise sighed.

"She's not nearly as ugly as she used to be, but she doesn't hold a candle to Luna," Draco argued. "Potter must have used his swag to get her on the top of the list. You'd think he would have made sure that his girlfriend had been put in the top spot, not Granger."

"Rumor has it," Goyle said, sounding all too pleased. "Weasley and Potter called it quits a few weeks back, but neither is willing to admit it because they don't want to deal with all of the questions."

"Really," Draco said, getting a great deal of satisfaction out of the failure of Potter's relationship; especially since his own personal life was going so well. "Weaselette and Potter are done?"

"Don't know for sure, but since she's been shacking up with Dean Thomas, I'd say so," Goyle laughed. "Thomas said that she wasn't much of a shag at first. So, I don't think Potter was able to juggle being a Saint and teaching his girl the ins and outs of bedroom etiquette, if you know what I mean."

"I think everyone knows what you mean," Draco said, laughing.

"Not to change the subject, but why are we here?" Blaise asked again.

"Right," Draco said, having been so caught up reveling in Potter's misery that he'd almost forgotten that he'd asked them to meet him there for a reason. "I've got this idea on how to get Luna's research back."

"Snape burned it," Goyle reminded his lovesick friend. "Unless you collected all of the ashes and created a spell to regenerate them, I'd say you're shit out of luck."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Draco laughed, tossing a small piece of croissant at Goyle's head. "My mother had a time turner," Draco withdrew the small golden trinket from his breast pocket and flashed it at his friends before tucking it safely back in its place. "I want to go back and replace the portfolio Luna gave Snape with a decoy that looks exactly like it, and save the other one from the fire." Blaise and Goyle stared at their ambitious friend, dumbfounded. The reason why the Ministry had placed such tight restrictions on time turners was for reasons like this; people who didn't have the expertise necessary to modify time without completely screwing up the future, going back to try to correct previous wrongs.

"You're not licensed to have a time turner," Goyle said, after several long moments of silence.

"How do you know?" Draco asked, not knowing just how restricted these devices were.

"Because no one outside of the Ministry is," Goyle sighed. "Fuck, Draco, you're really putting me in a shitty position. It's my job to make sure that no one's abusing magic and here you are in possession of a time turner."

"Look," Draco said, realizing that he really was taking advantage of their close friendship when he hadn't intended on doing so. "Sorry man, but that research meant the world to Luna and she hasn't quite been the same since Snape destroyed it. She means everything to me and I've got to get it back for her. I'm not going to mess up the future. I'll make sure that no one sees us..."

"Us!" Blaise and Goyle shouted in unison. Neither had realized that their friend had planned on including them in on his little escapade. They'd honestly just thought that he was bragging.

"Yes," Draco said, sternly. "Us. I need someone to run lookout. I can't do this on my own. I need your help... please." For nearly ten minutes all three wizards were silent, Draco simply allow his friends to ponder their decision. He knew it was asking a lot, especially with the possible repercussions they were all facing, but he really wanted to do this for Luna.

"I'm in," Goyle said, offering his friend a mischievous smile. "It's been a while since I've done anything I knew I shouldn't."

"Me too," Blaise said, sounding a great deal less sure of himself than Goyle was.

"You sure?" Draco asked, wanting to make sure they wouldn't back out. Both boys nodded. "Alright. I've done all of the calculations, and in order for us to get back to the day it happened, we'll need fourteen and three-quarter turns backward. The only problem is that once we've replaced the real portfolio with the fake, we'll have to hide out in that time frame until Luna storms out of Snape's classroom after finding out that he ruined her research. That's the earliest time I can calculate our return point from. Once we see her leave the room, it'll be fourteen turns exactly for us to return to the time when we went back. Worst case scenario, we have to shadow our present selves for a few minutes to make sure that we reappear at the exact time we left." Goyle stared at Draco, confused.

"I'm going to have to take your word for it," Goyle laughed, shaking his head as if it hurt.

"I'm one-hundred percent confident in my calculations," Draco assured his friends. "The only possible problem is that we may get caught. It's so important that we remain out of sight of not only our old selves, but others. The slightest mishap can completely screw up the future, and I'll be really pissed if it affects my relationship with Luna and Landon."

"How is Lanny?" Blaise asked, not really meaning to change the subject but curiosity getting the best of him.

"Oh, he's doing great," Draco said, his short attention span making an appearance. "He's smiling a lot more now, and it's really cute cause he doesn't have any teeth yet. We play this game called peek-a-boo all the time and he gets so excited. You guys have to come by and see him soon, he's getting so big."

"Aww," a voice interrupted. "Isn't that cute. Daddy Draco's waxing poetic about his little bundle of joy." Turning, ready to strike, the trio came face to face with none other than Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. "Fatherhoods turned you soft, Ferret," Ron said, smirking at his nemesis. Before Ron was able to continue, his girlfriend, Hermione Granger approached, instantly silencing any further taunts with a stern glare.

"Hello Malfoy," she greeted, uneasily. "How's Luna?"

"Better now that she's gotten rid of some of the... garbage from her life," Draco replied.

"So, she finally dumped your lousy ass?" Harry asked, him and Ron high-fiving each other.

"No," Draco assured him. "We're very much still together... better than ever actually. How's Ginny? Oh wait, maybe I should ask Dean Thomas." Blaise and Goyle erupted in laughter. Draco's quick wit was one of the reason's they'd always enjoyed being close friends with him; it certainly proved to be amusing. The smirk on Harry's face instantly faded and was replaced by an angry glare.

"Well at least I didn't knock her up," Potter said, hoping to get one over on the blond wizard.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did," Draco agreed. "And I've got a wonderful family to show for it. Not to mention a fantastic job, enormous fortune and all the power that comes with it. How's your job, Potter?" Draco knew he was hitting a bit of a sore spot. Ever since graduating for Hogwarts, Harry's performance had been sub-par. Not only did he only make a _decent_ Auror, but there had been a bit of a scandal a few months back because Harry and Ron had let a fugitive supporter of Voldemort slip through their fingers because they'd been so hungover after a long night of partying.

"Let's go," Hermione ordered, pulling Ron and Harry away by the arm. She wasn't dumb enough to let her boys get into a fit with three of the most magically, politically and monetarily powerful wizards in their world. It was social, and maybe even literal, suicide. "Now," she ground out when the boys tried to resist.

"That's right, _boys,"_ Blaise laughed. "Listen to Mommy; tuck you tails between your legs and skitter away like the pathetic twat's you know you are." A witch who was walking past them at that moment with her very young son, slapped Blaise quite hard on the arm and sent a very unhappy look his way. "Sorry ma'am," Blaise apologized, winking at her while looking her up and down appraisingly. Granted, she was a common middle-aged witch, whom Blaise certainly didn't find attractive, his pretend flirting proved to instantly soften her angry look.

"I didn't know you liked your witches so well... aged," Draco said, laughing. Normally, he wouldn't have made fun of his friends in front of their enemies, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"I like my witches, like I like my wine," Blaise joked. "Well aged and with a plate of cheese."

"What the fuck?" Goyle asked, unable to believe what his friend had just equated his taste in women to. Draco was too busy laughing to say much of anything.

"Laugh now," Potter hissed, snapping the former Slytherin's out of their friendly banter. "But in the end, just as we always do, we'll be the one's laughing."

"Oh," Goyle retorted, stepping in front of Malfoy so that his face was barely an inch from Harry's. "We're petrified."

"Do us a favor," Draco interjected, haughtily. "Don't bother trying to talk the talk, if you can't back it up. Now, if you'll excuse us, we were in the middle of something; besides I'm sure there's a bottle of Firewhiskey that you two drunkards need to get back to." Turning on their heels, the three wizards walked away from the other two very pissed off boys.

"Draco!" They heard Hermione call out. "Can you please tell Luna that I'm sorry for what I said and that she has a very handsome son!" Part of Draco wanted to say something snide like, '_she already knows that her son is handsome; she doesn't need the likes of you to tell her that,'_ but the look on Hermione's face was one of remorse and guilt, so he went against his gut and nodded. "Thank you," she said, dragging Harry and Ron away from the coffee house.

"Weird," Blaise muttered, shaking his head. "What's she sorry for?"

"The same day that Luna found out that Snape destroyed her portfolio, she overheard the Golden Trio making fun of her. I mean they laid into her like you wouldn't believe. Apparently, Granger feels bad for being such a stuck up, self-righteous little bitch."

"Tell us how you really feel," Goyle joked.

"Yeah well, if you heard what they'd said, you'd be pissed too," Draco said, in defense of his harsh words. "We were mean and sometimes even cruel to Luna, but at least we never pretended to be her friend."

"Good point," Blaise said. "Not that its much better, mind you."

"I'm not saying that it is, it's just not the same as what Potty and his lap dog's did," Draco argued.

"So, when are we going to get her portfolio back?" Goyle asked, glancing down at his watch. He really needed to go, otherwise he'd be excessively late for work.

"I based my calculations on our heading back, Friday night at ten o'clock," Draco said. "Are you guys free?"

"It's Monday now, so I'll just go ahead and reschedule the date I had for Friday. She wasn't that cute anyway," Goyle said, assuring Draco that he'd be free that night.

"I'll be there," Blaise said, as he and Draco did their trademark handshake.

"Thanks a million guys," Draco said, never having doubted that they would be there for him, just like they always were; even after Vincents death, they'd still managed to remain inseparable. "I owe you."

"You bet your ass you do," Blaise agreed, just before apparating away.

"I'll see you Friday night," Goyle said, him and Draco also doing their handshake before both apparating to work.

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	26. Little White Lies

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 26: Little White Lies**

The closer that Friday came, the more and more excited Draco got. He was really looking forward to getting back Luna's research. Even though Luna tried to act like she didn't think about the progress she could have made in finding a cure for Obliviate, Draco knew that it often crossed her mind. There was no way that it couldn't. According to Luna's father, she had really been onto something, and the possibility of finding a cure had been just within her reach. So, to have it snatched away so cruelly and unjustly, had been almost unbearable.

Draco had been so excited about his plan, that he'd almost slipped up and mentioned it to Luna on several occasions. She was the last person, save for the Minister of Magic himself, that Draco wanted to know about his having a time turner. There was a reason they were illegal, and no matter how much he tried to ignore the possible consequences of using the time turner, Draco couldn't. The tiniest of slip-ups could completely nullify his present life, and that was something that he couldn't bear the thought of. He loved Luna and Landon so much, and to think that he may have to live without them, was the worst possible life he could imagine. Luckily, since Blaise and Goyle already knew of his plan and were in fact, a very intricate part of it, Draco was able to talk to them about it. This meant that he'd been spending a lot of his free time during that week with the boys, instead of with his girlfriend and son, which certainly didn't please Luna all that much. She tried to act as if she wasn't bothered by his seeming detachment, but she couldn't help but feel lonely. For months now, she and Draco had spent almost all of their free time together or with Lanny, and she found Draco's desire to be out with the boys to be quite bothersome.

Draco assured Luna that he didn't want to spend more time with his friends than with her, it was just that Goyle was having a bit of a crisis at the moment and he really needed his and Blaise's support. Draco didn't want to lie to her, but in the grand scheme of things, he thought that having to tell a few little lies was worth getting her research back. He didn't doubt that Greg would be displeased by being used as a decoy, but hey, what are friends for, right?

Naturally, instead of leaving well enough alone, Luna had to ask what sort of crisis Greg was going through. Panicking, Draco slipped up and said that his friend was questioning his sexuality. Luna looked stunned at that revelation, as did Draco. Why on Earth that of all things had come out, he didn't know; but she bought it, so he wasn't about to try and back track and say it was something else. So all week long, instead of spending his time after work at home with Luna and Landon, Draco met up with Blaise and Goyle, and they went over the exacts and specifics of their plan. Usually they met at the coffee house, but that Thursday it had been really dreary and cold out, so the trio decided to corral themselves in Draco's office at home. Unfortunately, they weren't lucky enough to avoid Luna.

"Hey guys," she said, as Draco and his two friends entered the foyer, removing their scarves and coats and hanging them on the coat rack. Walking over to Draco, Luna kissed him and allowed him to take Landon from her arms. "How are you?"

"Great," Blaise said, hugging Luna, which took her by surprise. "And how is the second hottest unwed witch doing?"

"I'm good," she laughed. Luna had seen that rubbish that Rita had printed and she was less than thrilled. Personally, she felt that she had attributes that were more worth talking about than her looks. "Hello Gregory," she said, hugging him tightly and looking at him sympathetically. "How are you feeling?" Goyle looked at her, confused by the babying tone to her voice.

"I'm doing great," he assured her, hugging her in much the same fashion as Blaise had.

"Draco told me what you were going through," she whispered. "And I just wanted to say that I think its wonderful that you felt like you could go to Draco with this. Most guys would be petrified to reach out to their male friends when they've come to such a crossroad." Goyle was clueless. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what the hell Luna was talking about.

"What do you mean?" he asked, stealing Landon from Draco's arms and bouncing him playfully. "What crossroad?"

"You're gay," Luna said, simply. Draco stopped dead in his tracks. He'd completely forgotten about the little lie he'd told a few days earlier. "Draco told me about it already."

"I beg your pardon?" Goyle asked, nearly dropping Landon. Luckily, Blaise had been close by and had firmly grasped Landon before he was able to slip from his stunned friends arms.

"Draco said that you were questioning your sexuality..."

"I AM NOT GAY!" Goyle shouted, startling Landon, who began crying loudly. Gently, Blaise slipped the boy out of Goyle's arms and cradled him against his chest, trying to calm the startled baby, while at the same time trying to control his own laughter. "I love witches. All sorts, so long as they've got boobs and a vagina and no penis. Witches... not wizards!"

"Why would you say he was questioning..." Luna began to ask Draco, before being interrupted by another of Goyle's outburst.

"Gay!?" he shouted. "Gay? Me? What the fuck Draco?"

"I didn't say you were gay," the cornered blond lied.

"Yes, you did," Luna countered. "What the hell is going on; why are you lying?"

"I'm not lying," Draco argued, lamely. He didn't know what else to say. If he told Luna he was lying, she'd want to know why; and if he kept denying it Goyle was likely to beat him to a pulp. Luckily, Blaise, who found the entire situation hysterical, was able to figure out what was going on and he decided to help his frantic friend out of the rut he'd gotten himself into.

"Shit," Blaise said, handing the now calmed down Landon to his father. "Remember last week when that witch dumped you and you said that you were through with witches, and joked around about becoming gay so you didn't have to deal with their bullshit anymore." Blaise gave Goyle a look that said, '_play along'._ Catching the hint, Greg nodded, though somewhat unconvincingly. "I think Draco thought you were serious. That's why Luna thinks your gay."

"Oh, you were joking about that?" Draco asked, inwardly praising Blaise for being so quick on his feet. "I thought you were serious. Luna wasn't too happy about my not being home after work this week, so I told her that you were questioning your sexuality and you needed a friend. Sorry mate."

"No problem," Goyle ground out. "Let's just make sure that it doesn't happen again and that every is clear on the fact that I like girls... not guys."

"Crystal clear," Draco said, offering his agitated friend a mock salute.

"Then why did you say you didn't say that," Luna asked, not willing to let the fact that Draco had denied telling her that Goyle was a homosexual rest.

"I didn't," Draco lied, cursing himself for not having any other rebuttal.

"Yes, you did," Luna said, through clenched teeth.

"Luna," Blaise interjected, placing his arm over her shoulder and walking her towards a nearby settee. "Our Draco here, has been really stressed out as of late, so his brain is _obviously _a bit jumbled. I'm sure he didn't mean to lie to you, but he was torn between being a good boyfriend and being a good friend. If you'd been his old girlfriend, Pansy, he'd have told you to shove off, instead of letting you in on what he thought was the problem."

"Well, if Goyle isn't confused about his preferences," Luna asked. "Then why has Draco been gone everyday after work, this week?"

"Because he was under the impression that Goyle was confused," Blaise countered without missing a beat. "But the truth is, its all Goyle's and my fault. Ever since Landon and you came into Draco's life, Greg and I have hardly had five minutes with our boy here. I guess we were starved for attention or something. Now, don't get me wrong; we're really happy to see him so happy and we adore you and Lanny, but we were lonely." For added effect, Blaise stuck out his lower lip and pretended to pout.

"I guess I see what you mean," Luna replied, feeling a little bad for hogging all of Draco's free time. "It's just tomorrow afternoon, Draco is going out of town for a day or two and I've hardly seen him all week, so I guess I've been nitpicking a bit. But, you guys are welcome to come over anytime you want. Landon would love to see you more often."

"That sounds great," Blaise said. Draco couldn't believe how good a liar his friend was. Luna was a pretty perceptive girl, and she hadn't even realized that Blaise was bullshitting her.

"So, what are you guys up to this afternoon?" she asked, taking Landon from Draco's arms. "Nothing illegal, I hope." Draco's eyes opened wide, thinking she'd figured out what they were really planning.

"Of course not," Blaise lied. "We'll probably play a game or two of wizards chest, make fun of Potter and his lackey's and call it a night."

"Well, don't have too much fun," Luna said, kissing Draco before taking Landon upstairs for his bath.

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No sooner than the door to Draco's office closed behind them, Goyle was reading him the riot act. Greg couldn't believe that Draco had insinuated that he was gay. While he didn't have an issue with that lifestyle choice, it was one that he hadn't chosen for himself, so for his best friend to say he was, was just a bit more than Goyle could handle. Though it took about fifteen minutes, Greg finally stopped pouting and began to go over the details of Draco's plan one last time.

The way Draco had it planned out, while he was busy trying to switch the decoy portfolio with the real one, Blaise would stand watch outside of Snape's office wearing the invisibility cloak that Lucius had given him as a fifteenth birthday present. In the meantime, Goyle would be at the end of the corridor wearing the invisibility cloak that he had stolen from the Ministry on his second day of work, making sure that the coast was clear. Once they had made the switch, they would use the hidden tunnels underground to get to the outside of the castle, before heading to the Shrieking Shack. Once there, Draco would turn the time turner one-third of a turn, so that they didn't have to wait the several weeks between when Luna had given Snape the portfolio and when she found out it had been destroyed. Then all they had to do was wait for Luna to storm out of Snape's classroom after questioning him about her research, and turn the time turner fourteen turns, which would bring them back to the present day.

"Once we leave the past," Draco said, pouring himself and his two friends a glass of scotch. "We just need to keep an eye out for our present selves as we left them and cross their paths."

"You make it sound so simple," Blaise scoffed, downing his drink in one gulp. "Merlin, that stuffs disgusting."

"Then why do you drink it?" Goyle asked, drinking his own beverage. Personally, he was quite fond of the stuff.

"Because it makes me look cool," he laughed, only half kidding.

"Yeah, well you'd wear a skirt if you thought it made you look cool," Goyle joked.

"Well, I certainly have the legs for it," Blaise countered, shaking his butt in Greg's direction. "So, back to business, what time do you want to meet up tomorrow night?"

"I told Luna that I was going out of town tomorrow afternoon, so I figured we could meet at your house right after I get off. I'd really like to get this over and done with as soon as possible."

"You don't sound as excited about all of this as you used to," Goyle observed, pouring himself another drink. "You do remember that this was all your idea right?"

"Yes, I remember," Draco sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shutting his eyes tightly. "I'm just really worried that somethings going to go wrong. If it does, I'm fucked... not to mention in a lot of trouble with my Mum."

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to piss her off either," Goyle laughed. "Remember that time we got completely shit-faced and your Mum walked in on us. I don't think I've ever seen her face so red." The boys immediately started laughing as they recalled the event from a few years back.

"Or heard her scream so loud," Blaise added, laughing even harder. "We should do that again."

"My Mum doesn't care if we drink anymore; we're of age," Draco informed them, still trying to control his fit of laughter. "Which is too bad, cause that was really fun."

"Yes, it was," Goyle agreed. "Good times, good times. I sure wish Crabbe was here though. He'd really love what we've got planned for tomorrow." The mention of their fallen friend instantly quelled all of their amusement. Crabbe hadn't been nearly as lucky as Draco and Goyle had been. While Blaise remained neutral throughout the final battle, Draco and Goyle had switched from being on Voldemort's side to being on their own sides; which entailed doing whatever was required to keep them alive. One definitely couldn't consider these three boys to be on the good side, but they definitely weren't evil... anymore. Unlike his friends, Crabbe had remained on the Dark Lord's side and that decision ended up costing him his life.

"To Vincent," Draco said, solemnly, raising his glass in salute.

"To Vincent," Goyle and Blaise echoed, mimicking Draco's actions.

"I miss him, but he was an idiot," Blaise said, trying to sound as if he were joking, but his voice came across as strangled and tight.

"Yep," Draco agreed. "If he'd only followed our lead he'd probably still be here."

"The one time he chooses to think for himself he ends up getting himself killed," Goyle laughed. "Go figure."

"Well its a good thing he didn't think for himself often," Blaise added, trying to lighten the mood. "It seems like his original thoughts tend to be killers." Draco and Goyle tried not to laugh, but they couldn't help it. For nearly an hour, the three boys spent their time reminiscing over fond memories of their friend, Vincent Crabbe. It wasn't until Luna knocked on the door of Draco's office and asked Blaise and Goyle to stay for supper, that the trio emerged from their seclusion, proving that the old saying was right; the quickest way to a man's heart was through his stomach.

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	27. When He's Good, He's Good

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 27: When He's Good, He's Good**

All day long at work, Draco had been a nervous wreck; and the previous night hadn't been much better. He hadn't been able to sleep a wink because he was so wound up over what he had planned. It seemed like the closer the day came the more and more jazzed up Blaise and Goyle got, while Draco found himself becoming more and more apprehensive about the entire idea of going back in time to retrieve Luna's research. In theory his plan was flawless, it was in practice that he was worried. There were so many variables that he had to contend with, none of which he could control. The only comfort he was able to find was his confidence in his calculations. Draco had always been a bit of an Arthimancy and numbers buff, so he wasn't at all worried that his calculations were inaccurate. Not even Hermione Granger, the last person known to have used a Time Turner,would be able to best him when it came to numbers. In fact, Draco was pretty sure that all the Mudblood was good for was memorizing texts; after all, he didn't recall her having one original thought the entire time he'd known her. Instead, she just recited what she'd read, and in Draco's opinion that wasn't intelligence, that was having a good memory.

Draco's confidence in his abilities to pinpoint the exact time they would arrive and leave the past didn't stop in him from going over his plan constantly throughout the day. Draco wasn't able to finally relax until he received a response to the owl he'd sent to Snape asking to meet with him that afternoon. If Snape didn't agree to meet with him then his plan was shot, as he wouldn't have had any reason to be on Hogwarts grounds. Luckily, Snape seemed eager to meet with him, so Draco didn't really have to worry.

Much to Draco's chagrin, the work day flew by, and before he knew it five o'clock had come around and it was time for him to head over to Hogwarts. Just before he was getting ready to apparate to Blaise's house, Draco heard someone knocking at his door. In a hurry to leave, Draco rushed over to answer.

"Hi, Mum," Draco said, kissing his mother on the cheek.

"Hello, Love," she said, shutting the door to his office behind her. "I just wanted to come by and see you off. How are you holding up?'

"I'm good," He replied, as he put his leather jacket on over his oxford after having removed his blazer and tie. "A little nervous but I guess that's to be expected."

"Severus owled me this morning and told me that you'd asked to meet with him?" she said, taking a seat in his chair. Draco's eyebrows rose when he saw her do this. Everyone knew that he was a tad too possessive over '_his chair'_ and he absolutely hated it when people sat in it. He knew his father had made his mother aware of this, and every time she had the chance, she'd sit in his chair.

"Mum, I had that nice settee put in here for when you came to visit," Draco said, ignoring her mentioning his meeting with Severus, due to his agitation of her making herself so comfortable in her chair. "It's really very cozy and from there you have a fantastic view of the pond. The ducks are gone cause its winter, but its still quite lovely."

"I'm quite comfortable right here," she said, smirking at how easy it was to bother him. "You're not going to mention this to Severus are you. He still doesn't approve of your relationship with Luna, so I don't think that would be very wise."

"No," Draco said, still trying to figure out a way to get his mother out of his chair. "I don't see why he has any reason not to approve of Luna and me being together. Its not like he's even seeing someone, so who's he to judge." Draco had know Severus Snape all of his life, and he knew that his former professor only had his best interest at heart; so why, if he was happy with Luna, Snape would object to their being together, Draco didn't know or understand.

"I don't know why he's got a problem with it," his mother said, ignoring her son's persistent attempts at luring her out of his chair. "I adore Luna and your father's become quite fond of her; especially since he was able to get her all flustered at supper the other night."

"I knew it was only a matter of time before he tried to get her to fancy him," Draco laughed. "I don't particularly like it, but if it means he's not trying to make her cry every time he sees her, I'll live with it."

"So, if you're not going to talk to Severus about the portfolio then why are you meeting with him," Narcissa asked, standing and looking out of the large window. Draco was right, even though the pond was frozen over and the ducks were gone, it was still quite lovely out.

"He's just a decoy," Draco said, quickly sitting down in his chair so his mother couldn't sit in it again. "I needed an excuse to be on Hogwarts property, just in case someone asks."

"You really are a clever boy," his mother said, turning to look at him. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw that he was seated in his chair, so that she couldn't. "You think of everything don't you?"

"I try," Draco replied, trying to act cool. "I've really got to get going though. Blaise and Goyle are waiting for me."

"Do you really think it's wise to take those two with you?" Narcissa asked, recalling just how troublesome the three of them together can be when together. "Especially Greggory. I adore him, but he really does like to cause a ruckus."

"They're not fifteen years old anymore," Draco argued. "They've matured... some."

"I'm sure," she said skeptically. "Oh, whats this Luna tells me about Greggory being gay? I can't imagine his parents are too pleased."

"He's not gay, Mum," Draco laughed. "I told Luna that because she was asking questions about why I was gone so much. I panicked and said that Greg was having a crisis and he needed a friend. Naturally, she asked what sort of crisis, and that's what came out. When Goyle found out, I thought he was going to throttle me right then. If it wasn't for Blaise he probably would have."

"Well," his mother laughed. "You always did have an active imagination." Kissing him goodbye, his mother turned to leave. "Draco, promise me that you'll be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you, Luna or Landon."

"I promise," Draco said, before apparating to Blaise's house.

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"Blaise," Draco shouted, as he entered the foyer of his best friends home. "Where the fuck are you idiots!"

"Ah, there's the old Draco we all know and love," Goyle joked, laughing at his friends way of greeting them.

"There you are," Draco huffed, sounding really annoyed. "We've got to go. Snape's expecting us."

"I thought you were the only one meeting with Snape," Blaise interjected, not exactly excited about seeing his former Head of House just yet. Snape was always partial to his Slytherins, but for some reason Blaise and he had never gotten on all that well.

"You're both coming with me and that's that," Draco replied, sounding very motherly.

"Why?" Goyle asked, just wanting to know for curiosities sake.

"Because I said so," Draco snapped.

"Well someone's got his knickers in a twist," Blaise laughed, ruffling Draco's usually perfect hair. Apparently, Draco was wound a bit tight that afternoon because within moments, Draco had Blaise in a headlock and the pair were rolling around on the floor trying to make each other submit. "Say Uncle!" Blaise shouted, having reversed the hold that Draco had him in. The only sounds coming from Draco were those of his wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. Goyle really hoped one of them gave up soon, especially since Draco's face was turning bright red.

"Uncle!" Draco wheezed, tapping his hand against Blaise's forearm to signal that he'd given up. Letting his friend up, Blaise smiled at him gloatingly. Without giving Blaise a chance to figure out what was happening, Draco withdrew his wand and muttered, _' serpensortia'._ A huge snake came slithering towards Blaise, causing him to shriek loudly. It was a little, and I mean little, known fact that Blaise, a Slytherin mind you, was petrified of snakes. As the squiggling creature approached him, Blaise tried to back away. To impede his escape, Draco pointed his wand at his friend and said, 'tarantallegra', which caused Blaise's feet to start moving about rapidly and sent him crashing to the ground. "Say, _I'm Draco's bitch_," Draco laughed.

"I'm Draco's bitch, you bastard!" Blaise shrieked, just as the snake slithered up next to him. "I'm Draco's bitch!"

"Finite Incantatum," Draco said, hardly able to speak because he was laughing so hard. The snake disappeared and Blaise's legs stilled, allowing the wizard to return to his feet. "That my friend is why you don't fuck with the Master."

"You're evil, you know that," Goyle laughed, trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard. "Pure evil."

"What can I say, I get it from my Father," Draco countered, offering his friend the trademark Malfoy smirk. "Now can you douchbag's stop screwing around so we can get the hell out of here. In case you've forgotten we do have plans."

"Yes master," Goyle joked.

"I like the sound of that," Draco said, laughing. "It's got a nice ring to it."

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After leaving Blaise's house, the three boys apparated straight to Hogsmeade before heading up to Hogwarts. Several times before they reached Snape's office, both Goyle and Blaise tried to get out of actually going inside, but Draco stood his ground and insisted that they join him. Begrudgingly, they agreed.

The first half hour of their visit with their former Head of House was spent making idle chit-chat and catching up on how things had been going since the boys had graduated. It turns out that Snape had put in notice of his retirement from teaching at the beginning of the year, and would instead be taking a position as a freelance researcher. Draco was most surprised to note that Snape was wearing what looked like a wedding band on his left ring finger. When he questioned the Potions Master about it, Draco was told that Snape had in fact settled down with a witch who worked for the Ministry as an Unspeakable, and that they were planning on starting a family. Personally, the boys were interested to see what a witch that fell for Snape would look like but since the Potion's Master wasn't the sort to have photos lying around his office, they weren't able to. Whomever she was, no one could deny the fact that Snape seemed a bit more pleasant than usual; a fact that shocked Blaise to no end. Apparently, love had softened the callous wizard.

Once they'd caught up with one another's personal lives, Draco decided to broach the topic of Luna with the head of Slytherin. According to his Mum, Snape wasn't thrilled with Draco's choice in mates and he simply couldn't let the subject rest; he needed to know why.

"So, my Mum says that you don't like the fact that Luna and I are a couple," Draco said, stirring his tea. "Any particular reason why?"

"She's not good enough for you," Snape said simply. Draco scoffed loudly, while Blaise and Goyle sat there with their mouths wide open. Both knew that Snape was blunt and to the point but to say that Luna wasn't good enough for Draco was a bit cold, even for him.

"I'm quite sure its the other way around," Draco countered, trying to be as respectful as possible. Even though his father and Luna were on good terms at the moment, if Lucius were to hear about Draco being rude to someone he was close with, just because of her, it might change the way he behaved towards her. "Luna's more than I could have ever deserved."

"You say that now, but eventually you'll see her flaws," Snape assured the young wizard.

"And what exactly are her flaws?" Blaise asked, angrily. Quite frankly, he didn't give a damn about being respectful towards his former Head of House.

"Watch your tone, Mr. Zabini," Snape warned, before continuing. "Miss Lovegood's most notable flaw would be her bloodline."

"You're such a hypocrite," Blaise snapped. "Um, hello, Half Blood Prince. Remember that one?"

"I am well aware of the shortcomings of my ancestry," Snape said, nonchalantly. "And I suggest that Miss Lovegood figure out hers as well."

"So, does this mean that you won't be respectful towards her?" Draco asked, his voice tight.

"I won't go out of my way to be cruel, but I'm not about to baby the chit either," he answered.

"You won't go out of your way to be cruel?" Blaise asked, incredulously. "What do you call throwing her life's work in the fire?"

"She was sixteen years old, that's hardly a lifetime" Snape laughed. "She can start over if it means that much to her." Draco couldn't believe that Blaise, who was usually calm and collected, was letting Snape get under his skin like that. What's worse, was Blaise had brought up Luna's research which was a definite no-no. The last thing he needed was for Blaise and Goyle to start focusing their thoughts on getting her portfolio back, especially since Draco knew that Snape was a Legellimen.

"So long as you don't make her cry," Draco said, trying to put an end to the subject. He hadn't really wanted to even come see Snape, but he'd really needed a decoy, so the sooner they got out of there, the better.

"I'll do my best," Snape said.

"I'm sure you will," Blaise muttered, snidely. Draco scowled at him.

"I really must be getting back to grading papers," Snape said, signaling that their visit was over. "Draco, Gregory, do come visit me again sometime soon. Mr. Zabini... don't."

"Don't worry, I won't," Blaise assured him, before storming out of Snape's office.

"Bye Professor," Draco said, waving. "Mum says you should come by for supper soon. Maybe you could bring Mrs. Snape by too."

"I'll do that," Severus said, already back to grading his students papers.

Once the door was shut behind them, Draco let Blaise have it for coming so close to screwing things up. He couldn't believe that Blaise had been so disrespectful towards their former instructor. If Draco had done that and his father had found out about it, he'd need more than just a wand to get himself to safety. Respect towards your elders, so long as they were either Pureblood or friends of the family, was a big deal to his father. Unlike Draco, Blaise had been raised by his mother and all they really cared about was that they were better than everyone else, so they didn't really instill the same values that Draco had, in Blaise.

After reading Blaise the riot act, the three boys snuck down to the dungeons and entered one of the many hidden tunnels that led to the Shrieking Shack. Once safe inside of the shack, Draco and the boys went over their plan one last time.

"So have you given any thought on how you're going to make sure that no one finds the portfolio?" Blaise asked, as he used a spell to return the shrunken invisibility cloak to its original size. "You've got to keep in mind that its got to be somewhere that no one throughout the course of the past can find it, otherwise we're fucked."

"I know," Draco assured him. "Just leave that to me. You guys ready?"

"Yep," Blaise said, wrapping the cloak around himself so that only his head was showing.

"Me too," Goyle added, doing the same as Blaise.

"Good," Draco said, before aiming his wand at himself and muttering a spell. Instantly, his clothes changed and he appeared to be wearing his old Slytherin uniform. "This is just in case someone sees me. I won't look so out of place."

"Smart," Blaise said, looking impressed.

"Well, I wasn't chosen as Head Boy for my stunning good looks... though they probably were a factor," Draco joked. "Let's hug!" Draco said, loudly, holding his arms open in a mock invitation.

"I didn't know you felt that way for me," Blaise said, looking at Draco longingly before wrapping his arms tightly around his friend. In order for all of them to go back, he had to loop the Time Turner around all their of their necks. Thank Merlin the ruddy thing had a long chain. While Blaise was willing to make a joke of their having to be so close, Goyle was less thrilled. "Its not a threesome if there's only two of us," Blaise joked, looking over to Goyle. Begrudgingly, Greg joined Draco and Blaise. Once the Time Turner was in place, Draco made the required number of turns and they were off.

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"Damn it, Goyle!" Blaise grumbled,sounding like he was in pain. "Get your fat ass off of me." How the trio had managed to arrive in the past in a heap on the floor, Draco didn't know; but he did know that Goyle weighed a lot and he really wanted him to get up.

"Shit!," Draco grimaced. "How much do you weigh?"

"I'm all muscle, Goldie Locks, all muscle," Goyle laughed.

"I thought we agreed that you would never call me that again," Draco reminded his friend, his cheeks turning bright red.

"Must have slipped my mind," Goyle lied, standing and helping his friends up. As soon as they were righted, Blaise and Goyle hid beneath their invisibility cloaks, and one went to stand a few feet in front of Draco, while the other was a few feet behind him. This was done so that they could make sure that while on the way down to the dungeon no one snuck up on Draco. The plan was that if either of the lookouts saw someone heading his way, Draco would muttered an invisibility charm and would be able to hide from them; this was almost as reliable as an invisibility cloak but not quite.

The entire way down, Draco could hear his heart thudding loudly. He was so nervous he'd even started to sweat a bit. It wasn't until they'd reached Snape's office that he actually started think that things might work out okay. Based on the time, all of the students were busy at lunch, so their chances of being caught by a student were pretty slim. Draco knew that more often than not, Snape ate his lunch in his office, which was adjoined to his classroom; but whether or not the door was shut, Draco wasn't sure. So, he had Blaise, under the shield of his invisibility cloak peak inside the classroom.

Thankfully, the coast was clear; so Draco removed the shrunken decoy portfolio, that had random things about plants and potions jotted inside of it, and returned it to its original size. Doing his best to act like the cocky little punk he'd been while at Hogwarts , Draco sauntered inside of the classroom, making sure that he was as quiet as possible whilst remaining inconspicuous. Once inside, Draco glanced around the room trying to find the worn leather portfolio that he knew belonged to Luna. When he didn't locate it right away, panic began to set in, but a few moments later Draco saw it lying on the corner of the Potion's Master's desk. Looking around the room one last time, Draco make sure that no one had come in, before grabbing Luna's portfolio and putting in its place the fake one. Once satisfied that Snape's desk didn't appear to be disrupted, Draco shrunk Luna's research and put it in his pocket, before turning to leave the room.

"Is there something I can help you with Draco?" the all too familiar voice of Severus Snape asked, nearly causing Draco to piss his pants. Turning faster than he'd imagined possible, Draco came face to face with his former... err, current Head of House.

"Not really, Sir," Draco said, doing his best to come up with a believable excuse for being there. "I forgot that it was time for lunch. My brains a bit jumbled at the moment."

"Perhaps, you've been working a bit too hard these last few weeks, what with your O.W.L's right around the corner," Snape said, nodding contemplatively. "All of the Quidditch practice certainly isn't helping matters. Maybe you should consider easing of the extracurriculars until after exams. We wouldn't want you to exhaust yourself and screw up, would we? I know your father would be quite displeased."

"I won't screw up," Draco said, knowing that he did wonderfully on his O.W.L's; he'd even managed to do better than both his father and Snape had done on their own exams. "I just didn't sleep well last night, but it didn't have anything to do with studying or Quidditch. Pansy's being a bother, that's all." Draco knew that Snape hated talking about his students personal lives, so he figured this was the quickest way out of their conversation. In Snape's opinion, he was Potion's Master, not a therapist, therefore he shouldn't have to listen to them piss and moan about their teenage fumbling's. Just as he'd predicated, Snape did everything he could to end their conversation and ushered Draco towards the door.

Once outside of the classroom and sure that the door was shut behind him, Draco finally let out the breath that had caught in his throat. Patting his pocket to make sure that the portfolio was there, Draco whispered Blaise's name. Blaise tapped Draco on the shoulder to signal he was there and whispered, right next to his ear, that he was ready to go. Maintaining his usual swagger, Draco headed back down the way they'd came, making sure that they picked up Goyle on the way back. Draco had forgotten to find Greg, but luckily Blaise remembered. It would be pretty bad to forget one of his best friends in the past. He doubted that Goyle would be able to forgive him for that as easily as he'd forgiven him for telling Luna that he was gay.

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When the three of them returned to the safety of the Shrieking Shack, Draco thought he'd keel over and die. His heart had been hammering in his chest ever since they'd started this whole thing. Knowing that the end was near was such a relieving thought for all three boys. While they caught their breath and relished in their victory of sorts, Blaise once again asked how Draco was going to keep someone from the past from finding the portfolio.

"I've got it covered," Draco said, fishing around in one of his pockets and pulling out a tiny little box. Once enlarged, the box was about twelve inches by twelve inches and would easily be able to hold the portfolio. Aiming his wand at the retrieved portfolio, Draco placed at locating charm on it, before shrinking it to a much smaller size. Once the shrunken portfolio was placed inside of the box, Draco shut it and put numerous, very dangerous wards on it, before shrinking the box as well.

"Clever," Blaise said, nodding.

"I'm impressed," Goyle agreed. "You'd give your father a run for his money." Draco kind of felt proud of that comment. Granted his father had done some pretty messed up stuff, he still admired him for his ability to always come out on top.

Standing, Draco walked to one of the back rooms of the shack and knelled down on the floor next to the bed. Aiming his wand at the floor boards located under it, Draco blasted them away. Conjuring a hand held shovel, he began digging a hole. Satisfied that the hole was deep enough to hold the box he'd shrunken, Draco set his treasure inside and covered it with the dirt he'd dug up.

"Reparo," he said, instantly the floor boards fixed themselves. Taking out a switchblade from his pocket, Draco carved his initials and drew a heart beneath them before placing LL, for Luna Lovegood, underneath that. He did this so that when he returned to retrieve the portfolio, all he had to look for was the spot that he'd marked and dig it up.

"Aww," Blaise said, mockingly. "Draco Malfoy loves Luna Lovegood. How sweet."

"Shut up," Draco said, his cheeks blushing. "Let's get out of here." Pulling the Time Turner from his pocket, the three of them huddled together again and Draco used his previous calculations to speed up time so that they were at the point when Luna stormed out of Snape's office.

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From outside of the Potion's classroom door, Draco could here Luna shouting at Snape. Immediately, the three boys used the two invisibility cloaks to shield themselves from Luna's view when she came storming out. The only reason they even needed to be here at this point in time, was because it was the earliest, most accurate time, from which Draco was able to calculate their exact return point. All he needed was to see Luna storm out of the room, and then he just had to turn the time turner fourteen rotations and they'd be back in the present.

"I hope she hurries up," Goyle muttered, hating that he had to stay huddled up next to his two best friends all of this time. "Blaise, your breath stinks."

"Does not," Blaise argued.

"Shut up," Draco hissed, as he saw the door opening and a teary-eyed Luna come dashing out. Taking a deep breath and hoping that everything went as it was supposed to, Draco turned the Time Turner.

For several very long moments, Draco didn't open his eyes; afraid to find out whether or not his final attempt at time travel had been successful. It wasn't until he heard Blaise sigh in relief that he final opened his eyes wide enough to discern the shadow of his surroundings. It was then that he saw himself and Blaise on the floor wrestling with one another earlier that evening.

"We look like morons," Draco whispered to Blaise, as he watched his face turning bright red due to lack of oxygen. He'd always thought that he looked cool when he and his friends were fighting, Pansy always seemed to like it; but now that he'd seen what everyone else saw, Draco vowed to never do it again. As he watched himself take advantage of Blaise's not paying attention and unleash the snake on him, Draco felt relief wash over his body. He knew that within a few minutes time, when they crossed paths with their present selves, everything would be back to normal. Then all he had to do was sneak back up to Hogwarts, dig up the portfolio and put it in a safe place. '_Damn, when I'm good, I'm good,'_ Draco thought, as he lay in wait.

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I HAVE TO SEND OUT A BIG THANKS TO EMROLDMOON22 FOR MENTIONING THAT THE PORTFOLIO WOULD NEED TO BE HIDDEN IN THE PAST REALLY WELL, SO THAT IT COULDN'T BE FOUND. THAT HAD NEVER EVEN OCCURRED TO ME. SO THANKS A BUNCH FOR THAT ONE.

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	28. Rude Awakenings

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 28: Rude Awakenings**

The entire way home from Blaise's house, Draco couldn't stop thinking about how easy it had all been. He just couldn't believe that things had gone so smoothly. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that going back in time to retrieve Luna's research portfolio would have been so simple. He was half tempted to come up with a list of things that had happened in the past that he wanted to change, and then go back and fix them, but after careful consideration he decided not to push his luck and just leave it the way it was. After all, the past had led up to the present and all in all he was quite happy with his current situation.

He was so excited by the thought of how Luna would react when she found out what he'd done for her, that he was actually contemplating proposing to her as soon as possible. The only thing that stopped him was the knowledge that she would probably feel pressured, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. So instead, Draco would just wait until he was sure that marriage was what Luna wanted, even if he didn't really want to. Luckily for Draco, he at least had Blaise and Goyle to talk to about what they'd done. Otherwise, there was a really good chance that he'd mess up and blurt it out to the wrong person, which would cause a whole heap of problems.

Taking a deep breath, Draco did his best to calm himself down, so as to avoid the aforementioned fiasco, and quietly crept up the grand staircase that led to his and Luna's bed chambers. Draco had told Luna that he'd be gone until at least Sunday morning, but since everything had gone better than expected with his time travel rendezvous, he couldn't see the point in staying away. He figured he'd just make up some story about finishing his business early and missing her so much that he just couldn't be away a second longer; which technically was the truth; he had finished retrieving her portfolio sooner than he'd expected and he really couldn't stand the thought of being away from her, so he was pretty sure that he wasn't lying again.

Opening the door as little as possible so that the candle light from the hallway wouldn't disturb Luna, Draco entered their bed chambers. Checking around the room, Draco did his best to make sure that everything was as he'd left it; still wary that maybe something had been affected by the time turner, but the lack of light made it nearly impossible to tell. The only comforting thing was the familiar sight of Luna bundled up on the right side of the bed. Granted, he couldn't actually see her because it was dark and she was covered up by the duvet, but just knowing that she was there was enough to assure him of his plans success. When he'd first walked into the room, he had this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that his bed would be empty, and that would mean that Luna wasn't living with him and most likely meant that either Landon had never been born or that Luna had refused to allow him into their lives. But luckily fate was on his side, and just as always, the love of his life lay sleeping in their bed. Ridding himself of his clothes, Draco curled up next her and fell asleep.

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"Draco, wake up," she said, happily, as she jostled him awake. "Rise and shine!" Maybe it was because he was till exhausted from the stress of going back in time, but Luna was really annoying that morning. In fact, the sound of her voice kind of made him want to shove cotton balls in his ears to stop them from bleeding. Begrudgingly, yet careful not to be mean for fear of pissing her off, Draco opened his eyes to tell her to leave him alone.

"Holy fuck!" Draco shouted, as he stumbled out of bed, his foot getting twisted in the covers in the process and causing him to crash to the floor. He couldn't believe it; he had to be dreaming. Blinking over and over again, Draco tried to rid himself of what had to be a mirage. But no matter how many times he blinked or rubbed at his eyes furiously, the image just wouldn't go away. Perched on her knees in the center of the bed was Draco's ex-girlfriend, Pansy Parkinson.

"Oh, Drakie-poo, did I scare you?" she asked, sounding disgustingly chipper for that early in the morning. "Come back to bed, I'll make you feel better." Draco hurried to his feet and went to stand as far away from her as humanly possible.

"What the fuck!" he shouted. "What the fuck!" At that moment, thoughts of Landon entered his mind and Draco looked across the room to the door that led to Landon's nursery. He was heartbroken to find that it wasn't there. There was nothing but a wall. A very dark, very unwelcoming, very Malfoyesque wall. Unable to control himself, Draco let out a gut-wrenching, angry yell. He couldn't believe he'd managed to screw his perfect life up so royally.

"Draco!" he heard someone shout. "Shut the fuck up, you idiot! You'll wake the entire fucking world!"

"Wha..." Draco stammered, his eyes fluttering open. Coming to his senses, Draco stared up into the faces of his two really annoyed and tired looking best friend. "I fucked it up. I really fucked it all up."

"What are you talking about you baby?" Blaise snapped, as he tried to clear the sleep from his eyes. "Your hissy-fit nearly gave me a heart attack."

"My family's gone," Draco clarified, hurrying to his feet so he could pull on his pants. "We've got to go back and fix this."

"What the hell are you talking about, Malfoy?" Goyle asked, only half awake. Though he'd nearly pissed his pants when he'd heard Draco screaming from down the hall, it still wasn't enough to make him all that coherent. "Your family's fine, remember?"

"Remember what?" Draco asked, frantically, stopping his attempts at putting his pants on; not that it mattered seeing as how dressing himself wasn't going very well. He'd only managed to get one leg in his pants and even then they was inside out. "What are you talking about?"

"When we got back last night you were being a bit of a bitch about whether or not Lanny and Luna were okay, so you owled her to check. She responded right back and told you that Landon had pitched fit because you weren't there to read to him, but other than that everything was fine." Blaise rolled his eyes at his friends forgetfulness.

"Thank Merlin," Draco sighed, falling to the ground, his pants forgotten. Thankfully, he'd left his boxers on that night, otherwise, Blaise and Goyle would have gotten an eyeful. "It seemed so real."

"What did?" Goyle asked, lying down on a settee that was way too small for someone his size, but not caring because he was so tired.

"That dream," Draco answered. "Pansy Parkinson is not someone you want to wake up next to; least of all when you're not expecting it."

"Is that why you chucked her from your bed every time you shagged her?" Blaise asked. Draco nodding, unable to stop himself from laughing. The fact that she was an easy lay was really the only reason Draco had every gotten involved with Pansy; that and because his father had told him to. "Well, I can see why you're so worried. It does seem like it was too easy. Time travel doesn't usual go so well."

"Yeah," Draco agreed. "I won't feel like every thing's okay until I've got the portfolio in hand and I'm back home with my wife."

"Dude," Goyle laughed. "She's not your wife!" Draco just rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, '_yet'._

"I know I said we'd wait until tonight to go and get her research, but do you guys mind if I just go and get it now, by myself? The suns not up yet, so I shouldn't have any problems, especially since I'll use my invisibility cloak."

"I thought we were going to go together?" Blaise asked, kind of feeling left out.

"I know, but since its early I'll be more likely to run into Snape. You know how he likes to patrol the grounds all the time," Draco reminded him. "One of us is less likely to get caught than three."

"Fine," Blaise mumbled. Goyle didn't answer since he'd already fallen back asleep. "Just let us know how it goes."

"Will do," Draco said, standing and putting his pants on correctly this time. "Thanks again for all your help."

"No problem," Blaise said. "Next time you feel like breaking dozens laws and changing the course of history as we know it, just let me know and I"ll be there."

"Sure thing," Draco said, before finishing getting dressed and apparating to Hogsmeade so that he could retrieve the portfolio he'd hidden in the Shrieking Shack.

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Just as he'd planned, procuring Luna's research from the Shrieking Shack where he'd hidden it, went off without a hitch. After apparating to Hogsmeade, Draco had hidden himself underneath the invisibility cloak his father had given him for his fifteenth birthday, and snuck over to the Shack. Once inside, he walked to the back bedroom and looked under the bed. Without even having to search hard for it, Draco located the spot where he had engraved his and Luna's initials into the floorboards. After blasting through the wooden flooring to reveal the soft dirt beneath it, he activated the locating charm so that he could ensure that he had to do the least amount of digging possible, and dug up the lock box. The hardest part about retrieving the portfolio had to have been when he went to un-ward the box. Just to be safe, Draco had used as many locking spells as possible, most of which were quite dangerous. The bad thing was, he hadn't written them down, so it had taken some time for him to recall exactly which one's he'd used. Luckily, after about half an hour, Draco had successfully removed all of the wards he placed on the box and had managed to do so without causing any harm to himself.

The next phase of his plan, and perhaps one of the most important parts, was actually keeping the portfolio away from Luna and the rest of the Wizarding World. Since he planned on giving it to her as a gift, Draco had to make sure that Luna didn't stumble upon it one day when roaming through the house, and that no one else was able to locate it either. So instead of hiding it at Malfoy Estates, like he'd originally planned, Draco decided to take another course of action.

After he'd gotten Blaise and Goyle to agree that they would help him go back in time to save Luna's research from Snape's wrath, Draco had headed into Muggle London and went to a bank that also had safety deposit boxes. Using an alias of Bill Shakespeare II, Draco opened up an account with the bank so that he could have a deposit box at his disposal. Even though the bank clerk looked at him strangely when he told her his name and had given him his fake id, opening his account had gone as smoothly as he could have expected. Once he placed his possession within the deposit box, Draco was sure that no one, not even Luna, would be able to figure out which box was his; so he was more than confident that the portfolio would be completely safe within the bank walls. As he left the bank, he couldn't help but consider himself to be a very, very clever wizard.

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Draco had told Luna not to expect him back home for several days, but since he'd finished his little 'mission' early, he decided to just head home. After all, until he saw for himself that Luna and Landon were completely unharmed by his time traveling, Draco wouldn't be able to breath easy. He'd thought about owling ahead, so that Luna wasn't surprised to see him, but Draco decided against it; liking the idea of surprising her much better.

"Luna," he called out, as he entered the foyer, dropping his luggage next to the closed door. "I'm back early." Luna had been upstairs giving Landon a bath, since he'd decided to spit up his entire breakfast all over himself that morning, and she'd been more than startled to hear Draco's voice. Luna had been so caught off guard by his arrival, that her hand had slipped and she accidentally brushed the soapy washcloth over Landon's eyes causing the baby to scream because of the stinging sensation it caused.

"Shh," Luna said, soothingly, as she quickly rinsed the foamy bubbles off of his face and tried to flush out his sensitive eyes. "Oh, Mommy's sorry, Love. Daddy just startled her..." Hearing Landon crying, Draco hurried upstairs, to see if there was anything he could do to help.

"Hey there," he said, leaning down and kissing Luna on the forehead while she continued trying to make sure that she'd gotten all of the soap out of Landon's eyes. "What's wrong with him."

"I got soap in his eyes," she said, as Landon's cries began to lessen now that his eyes didn't sting anymore. "Don't think he liked it much."

"Who does," Draco joked, kneeling down next to Luna so that Landon could see him. "How's my guy this morning?" Without thinking, Draco tickled Landon's round little belly, causing the boys arms and legs to splash soapy water up into Luna's face.

"Shit," Luna muttered, one of her hand's going to wipe at her eyes where water had splashed her, while the other hand supported Lanny's head. Even though he was seated in a baby bath that was placed inside of the tub, and it was completely safe, Luna was always petrified that if she wasn't supporting his little body in some way, he'd drown. No matter how many time Draco tried to calm her nerves, Luna always insisted that she have her hand under his head while he bathed. "I guess turnabouts fair play," Luna laughed, as she tried to wipe the soapy water from her eyes. Realizing that she had soap in her eyes, and not just water, Draco took Landon into his arms, throughly soaking himself, so she could go flush them.

"I'll finish up his bath, if you want," Draco offered, once Luna had returned from the sink. "You look tired."

"Gee, thanks," Luna said, rolling her eyes. Draco was right though. She was exhausted. Not only had Landon pitched a fit because he'd missed his father, but not having Draco in bed with her last night had made it impossible to fall asleep. "You look like a million bucks. Why do you look so happy anyway?" She didn't know why, but she didn't like the fact that Draco looked so freaking chipper after having spent the night away from home. All she could think of was that maybe he'd enjoyed being away and that he would start to think that family life wasn't the type of life he wanted for himself right now. Or worse, maybe he'd spent his night screwing some really pretty witch and that was why he was smiling so much.

"I'm just glad to be home, that's all," Draco said, leaning over and kissing her properly, which he hadn't been able to do when he'd first arrived in the lavatory. "I missed you two like you wouldn't believe."

"Is that why you're back so early," she asked, feeling relief wash over her after the familiar feeling of his lips against hers had settled in. Deep down, she knew that Draco wouldn't cheat on her and that he absolutely loved being a father and boyfriend, but it didn't help to quell that ridiculous voice in the back of her head that told her otherwise.

"Yes," he said. "I wanted to get home as soon as I could, so I rushed through everything." Draco was grateful that technically he wasn't lying. He had missed her, so he did rush through his work; it just hadn't been the work she'd thought that he was doing. "Why don't you go lay down and I'll finish Lanny's bath. You look like you could use a couple hours rest."

"I can't," she muttered, her cheeks blushing.

"Why not?" Draco asked, setting Landon back down into his bath and starting to wash him. "Is it cause the sun's up?"

"No," she said.

"Then why?"

"Because, I can't sleep without you anymore." Luna hated having to admit it out loud, but she knew that Draco wouldn't leave it alone until she did. It wasn't like she didn't like having him next to her, in fact, it was the exact opposite; she loved sharing a bed with him. Luna just didn't like that he knew she was so dependent on him. Sleeping is a basic function of life, and she felt that one should be able to do it regardless of whether or not her boyfriend was there. Turning to look at her, Draco let her words sink in. He knew that she was embarrassed by her admission, so he didn't make a joke about it like he normally would. Instead, he just stood and kissed her. The moment Luna realized that no one was supporting Landon's head, she freaked out and lunged for him, butting her head against Draco's in the process.

"Ouch," Draco grumbled, rubbing his head. "Whoever said love hurts, wasn't joking."

"Shut up," Luna laughed.

"Babe, the bath seat he's in is designed so that he can't drown. You don't have to worry," Draco said, for the umpteenth time, knowing that it was useless but still feeling the need to remind her.

"I know, but I can't help it," she countered. "You can never be too careful."

"Good point," Draco said, kneeling back down next to her so that he could resume Lanny's bath. "How about you head to bed and wait for me, I'll finish up with Landon and then put him to bed for a nap, and then I'll come join you. We can maybe shag for a bit and then get some sleep." Draco had kind of hoped that she hadn't caught him adding sex to the mix, he'd hoped to just weasel that one by her, but he also knew that ever since they'd started sharing a room she hadn't turned him down yet, so he figured either way he'd score.

"Sounds like a wonderful plan," Luna said, kissing him quickly before standing to leave.

"See how Daddy snuck that one in there," Draco said, leaning down close to Landon's ear. "Your Mum doesn't even know that she just agreed to have sex with me."

"You'll have to teach him how to do that when he's older," Luna said, scaring the hell out of Draco, who'd thought that she'd left already. He hadn't meant for her to hear that. "Just so you know, you didn't sneak that one in. I just didn't have a problem with it." Smirking at him, Luna turned to leave for real this time.

"She has really good hearing," Draco said, making a mental note of it. As he finished up Landon's bath, Draco's mind drifted to a purchase he'd made when he'd gone to Muggle London to open up his account at the bank. He'd told Luna that the reason he'd gone to town was to buy some more toys that would help Landon's mental development. Not wanting to come back empty handed, Draco had actually gone back to the Baby Depot and found so toys for Lanny, but while he was there he'd also purchased a couple of board games for him and Luna to try out. The one he was most excited about was called Monopoly, but there was also one he thought that he'd be really good at, called Scrabble; and that one he planned on taking into his and Luna's room after putting Lanny down for his nap. Draco knew that even though she was tired, Luna would never be able to actually go to sleep. She'd always had a hard time sleeping when the sun was up, and he knew that after he had a go at her, she'd be too wound up for sleep. So, he figured they could give Scrabble a try.

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SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG, BUT GETTING READY FOR THANKSGIVINING MADE IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE ANYTHING. BY THE WAY, I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVINING!

FYI: I'M PRETTY SURE THAT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE PRETTY EXCITING FOR DRACO AND LUNA, NOT TO MENTION A LONG TIME COMING hint hint

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	29. An Unplanned Conversation

**Happenstance **

**Chapter 29: An Unplanned Conversation  
**

In the four short months Luna and Draco had been living together, he had learned a lot about the young witch who'd rather unexpectedly turned out to be the love of his life. This knowledge had made it quite easy for him to predict how she would react and choose to handle situations, and his most recent prediction of her not being able to just doze off after they'd made love that morning, was correct. True to form, Luna was wired; though just by looking at her, Draco could tell that she could use a few hours of rest. Nevertheless, when he'd suggested that they try out the board game, Scrabble, that he'd purchased a few days back when he'd gone into Muggle London to _'buy developmental toys for Lanny'_, Luna had been all for it.

Before they'd started playing Scrabble, Luna had carefully gone over the rules and made sure that both of them understood just how to play; since she was sure that if she didn't, Draco would find a way to cheat, after all, he was a Malfoy and Malfoy's like to win, even if it means they have to cheat to do it. Just as they were drawing their tiles, Landon's cries could be heard from the nursery, signaling his parents that he was finished with his nap, whether they liked it or not. Pulling the top sheet from the bed, Luna wrapped it around herself before hurrying into the nursery to retrieve their fussy son.

As always, the moment she'd picked him up, Landon's cries ceased. Inwardly, Draco wondered if it was a good idea to give him what he wanted every time he cried, but quickly dismissed the thought, seeing as how his own parents had done just that and he'd turned out perfectly fine; or at least he felt he had.

As Luna returned to their bedchamber's from the adjacent nursery, holding Landon against her chest with one arm while she held up the sheet that covered her with the other; Draco watched them intently, thinking to himself that he'd never seen his girlfriend look so beautiful before. Sure he'd seen her in fancy evening gowns that he'd even gone through the trouble of picking out, and he'd seen her in sexy jeans and a jumper with her hair done perfectly and just enough makeup to highlight her features, but for some reason Draco felt she was most beautiful in that moment; without any makeup, clad in only a bed sheet and her '_I've-just-had-my-brains-shagged-out-hair'_ all over her head. And the fact that she was holding the worlds most handsome baby boy in her arms certainly didn't hurt either.

"What?" Luna asked, as she lay Landon's blankey out at the top of the bed and carefully placed him on it, so that he was situated between his parents and far enough away from the edges that they didn't need to worry about him falling off. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Draco asked, feigning innocence.

"Like that," she said, laughing a bit. She wasn't sure why, but he had kept on staring at her like she was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. "Stop it!"

"Stop what?" he asked, jokingly. He knew exactly what he was doing, he just liked toying with her; and let's face it, she made it easy. "I can't help it if the most beautiful witch in the world feels compelled to spend a great deal of her time in this room with me. I'm just an innocent victim."

"I swear, you get cheesier everyday," Luna said, crawling over to where Draco lay on his back, looking up at her. Leaning down, Luna kissed him, letting him twine his fingers through her thoroughly disheveled mane. Several minutes passed before the couple broke apart, and even then it was only because Landon decided to remind them of his presence by giggling. "Keep your hands to yourself Mr. Malfoy," Luna joked, pulling away as she wrapped the sheet that Draco had removed from her body back in place. "Let's wait a few more years before we submerse our son in debauchery."

"Why wait?" Draco half joked, more than ready to have another go.

"Because I want to play a game," Luna said, straightening the game board back up since she'd knocked it around on the bed with the sheet, when she was crawling over to Draco.

"Well if its games you're into..."

"Scrabble," Luna interjected, not giving him the chance to make the dirty comment that he undoubtedly had planned. "I want to play Scrabble; not whatever naughty games you've got stored in that dirty mind of yours."

"I have a dirty mind!" Draco exclaimed. "That's the pot calling the cauldron black! Need I remind you of that thing you do with your..."

"No," Luna interrupted. "I'm well aware of the cleanliness, or lack thereof, of my thoughts and actions. Besides, I didn't hear you complaining." Draco just rolled his eyes; why on Earth would he complain. Any wizard would have given their right testicle to be in some of the situations she'd had him in as of late. "Can we start the game now, please?"

"Whatever my Lady wishes," Draco said, rolling over onto his stomach. Immediately, he regretted that move, as the rather persistent erection Luna had so lovingly bestowed upon him rubbed against the duvet, reminding him that he wasn't quite satisfied with the idea of playing a board game at that moment. "You sure you don't want to shag again real quick?"

"Later," Luna said, waving his suggestion off without even looking up from her tiles.

"Easy for you to say," Draco muttered, begrudgingly situating his tiles on their wooden rest. He hoped that this distraction would help to keep his mind off of another distraction he was currently having to deal with, and he hoped it worked fast.

"Who goes first?" Luna asked, smirking as she looked up from her tiles.

"Don't take up poker," Draco said, earning himself a confused look from his girlfriend. By the look she'd had on her face, Draco could tell that she was quite tickled by whatever it was she had spelled out with her tiles. Apparently, keeping a straight face was out of the question. "And I go first."

"Why do you go first?" Luna asked, eager to lay down her tiles.

"Because, I bought it," Draco said, lamely, a smile spreading across his own face. _'Note to self,'_ Draco thought, _'Don't take up poker.'_ Even though he'd just poked fun at Luna for not being able to stop herself from revealing how pleased she was by the tiles she'd drawn, Draco had been unable to mask his own pleasure too. Quickly, while snickering to himself, Draco lay down his small wooden tiles.

"Blowjob!" Luna exclaimed, as she read what he'd spelled out.

"Is that an offer?" Draco asked, cheekily. "Cause I'd love one."

"When don't you?" she asked, rhetorically. "So, are we playing naughty Scrabble or something?"

"No, that's just what the tiles spelled out," he defended. "I can't help what tiles I drew. It's your turn." Blushing, Luna lay her tiles down on the board.

"Who's being dirty now!" Draco asked, staring at the word she'd just put down. "Scrotum? That's very uncharacteristic of you, Miss Lovegood. I'm not even hundred percent sure I know what that is."

"It's the..."

"And I don't want to," Draco said, before she had a chance to give him the definition; he already knew the basic idea and he certainly didn't want to hear the details.

For nearly an hour, Draco and Luna continued their game of Scrabble; spelling out dirty words whenever they had the chance. It got to the point where they abandoned keeping score and just divvied up the tiles and took turns spelling out weird things. The two of them couldn't remember a time when they'd laughed as hard as they did during that game. The best part was that even though he didn't have the slightest clue what was going on, every time Luna and Draco started laughing, Landon would join in. It was a very deranged family activity, Luna had mentioned. The weirdest part, was that Landon was wearing more clothing than either of his parents were, which would have proven to be a rather odd sight, were anyone to walk in on them at that moment.

"Marry me," Draco said, without thinking or giving any warning whatsoever. Luna's head shot up off the bed and she stared at him for all of two seconds before answering.

"Okay."

"Okay," Draco replied, lamely as he nodded, not exactly sure of what had just happened. He hadn't planned on proposing until he was sure that Luna was ready for it, but the words had just slipped out and he hadn't been able to stop them. The fact that she had said okay was even more shocking then the question he'd asked. To be honest, he wasn't exactly sure if she'd heard him correctly or not, but he wasn't about to check, afraid that she'd change her answer when he clarified the question. "You hungry?" Draco asked, his eyes opened wide due to the shock of the situation. Draco hoped that his plan of using his bottomless pit of a stomach, as a way to get Luna out of the room long enough for him to gather his thoughts, would work. Luna looked just as shocked as Draco did, and without so much as a word, she gathered the sheet that was draped over her body into her fist, and high-tailed it to the door.

When he was sure that she was gone, Draco rolled over to where Landon lay, picking his son up and laying the baby on top of his chest so that they were face to face. For several moments, they just stared at each other, Landon reaching up and trying to grab onto his father's nose a few times, but missing since his eye-hand coordination was still developing.

"Lanny, I think I just proposed to your Mum," Draco whispered, still unable to believe what he'd just done. "And she accepted!" Luna had said yes, but Draco wasn't sure if she'd really meant yes, or if she'd just been caught off guard by the question and had blurted out the first thing that had come to mind.

"Gaaa," Landon babbled, successfully grabbing hold of his fathers lips in his tiny, uncertain hands.

"Yeah," Draco said, pulling his head away. "Gaaa, is right. Daddy's in deep Gaaa."

For nearly fifteen minutes, Draco just lay in bed with his son resting on his chest, trying to think through the situation he'd just created. By no means was he unhappy with the idea of marrying his girlfriend, it was actually the exact opposite. Draco would have married Luna the day he'd found out about Landon if she'd have gone through with it. The only concern he had was the way he'd proposed and how quickly she'd accepted. It was just too uncharacteristic of her previous behavior for him not to think twice about it.

Deciding that since he couldn't take it back; well actually he could, but that would involve using the time turner and he wasn't about to start screwing with that thing on a regular basis; Draco lay Landon back down on his blankey and rushed into his closet. As quickly as possible, Draco unwarded the safe he'd had installed when he bought the house and pulled out a small velvet box, before hurrying back into the bedroom.

Ten minutes later, Luna returned to the room with a bowl of potato chips in hand. Apparently, she'd been busying thinking about the events that had just taken place, since Draco knew it didn't take twenty-five minutes to empty a bag of chips into a bowl. Smiling awkwardly, Luna sat down on the bed, fidgeting with the bowl of chips to occupy her shaking hands. Taking a deep breath, Draco stood and pulled on his boxers that were lying on the floor, before going to stand next to Luna. For several moments he just stood there, looking down at her with a strange, uncertain look on his face, before dropping down to one knee.

"Marry me?" Draco said, sounding really unsure of whether or not he was asking the right question. Opening the small velvet box he'd retrieved from his safe a few minutes earlier, Draco presented Luna with an engagement ring. This wasn't just any ring. This was the Malfoy family engagement ring. Every witch who'd ever married into the family had worn this ring throughout the duration of their engagement, before being given a new ring at the actual wedding. When his mother had found out that he truly cared for Luna, she'd given him the ring to use when he was ready.

"I already said yes," Luna said, cupping Draco's face in her hand that wasn't holding up the bed sheet. As soon as she smiled down at him, the uncertainty that he was feeling melted away. Excitedly, Draco removed the extravagant diamond ring from the box and slipped it on his fiance's finger. For the first time since he'd initially blurted out his proposal, Luna actually showed signs of being excited. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she closed what little space there was between their bodies, and kissed him.

"And this is really what you want?" Draco asked, as they broke their kiss. "You don't feel pressured or anything?"

"This is what I want," Luna assured him, her bright blue eyes welled up with tears. "I promise." That was all he needed to hear to know that she really wanted to be his wife, and that she wasn't saying yes because she felt obligated to do so. She just wanted to be his wife.

"You hear that Lanny," Draco said, bounding over to his son and gathering him into his arms. "Your Mum's finally gonna marry me!" Holding Landon's little body up so that he covered his face, Draco said in a high pitched voice, trying to mimic a baby, "It's about time."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Luna said, taking Landon from Draco before kissing him once more.

"Which one?" Draco asked. "I'm not the only Malfoy here." Luna didn't answer, she just rolled her eyes and sat down so she could nurse Landon, the entire time admiring the beautiful engagement ring on her finger.

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HOPE YOU ALL LIKED IT. I WAS TEMPTED TO MAKE HIS PROPOSAL ELABORATE, BUT I THOUGHT I'D CHANGE IT UP AND MAKE IT MORE CHARACTERISTIC OF HIS PAST BEHAVIOR IN THIS STORY; UNPLANNED AND A BIT OF A... HAPPENSTANCE (like how I tied that in there)

FYI: JUST SO YOU ALL KNOW, LANDON IS SEVEN MONTHS OLD NOW. HE WAS THREE MONTHS OLD WHEN LUNA AND DRACO STARTED LIVING TOGETHER, AND ITS BEEN FOUR MONTHS NOW. SO, ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED IN A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

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	30. Start Spreading the News

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 30: Start Spreading the News**

"Lucius," Narcissa Malfoy said to her husband, as she sat across from him in his office, reading that mornings edition of the Daily Prophet. Though it was two o'clock in the afternoon, Narcissa had only gotten hold of the paper a few minutes earlier. Lucius was very particular about being the first one to read the paper. He hated getting it second hand because then the pages were wrinkled; or so he said. Not wanting to argue with him, for the last twenty-three years, Narcissa had always allowed her husband to read the paper first. "That box on your desk is glowing," she informed him, pointing at the trinket box on his desk. Whipping his head around, Lucius turned his attention to the small platinum box that sit on the corner of his impressive desk. The box, which was no bigger than his hand and had the Malfoy family crest engraved on each side and was heavy ladened with emeralds and onyx gems, had been past down to the head of the Malfoy line ever since they'd come to exist. Excitedly, Lucius picked up the family heirloom and looked over to his wife expectantly.

"What is it?" she asked. That box had been on Lucius' desk for as long as she could remember, and no matter how many times she'd asked him what it was, he would always avoid the question. "Why is it glowing like that?"

"Did you give your engagement ring to Draco already?" Lucius asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," Narcissa replied, hesitantly. "You told me years ago that he was supposed to use it as you had. When he told me how smitten he was with Luna, I gave it to him, just in case he decided that she was the one he wanted. Was that wrong?"

"No," Lucius said, happily. "That was perfect." Leaning over, he kissed his wife. "This is the jewelery box that has always been paired with that ring. They were made to go together. The trinket box is passed down to the head of the Malfoy family, while the ring is given to his oldest son and eventually to his bride. The moment an engagement takes place, the box emits this lovely green aura to alert the Head of the line that its time for the box to be opened, at least that's what Father said."

"Is that why you would never let me open it?" Narcissa asked. "Because it hadn't starting glowing yet?"

"You can't open it until its ready to be opened," Lucius informed her. "Trust me, I've tried." Eager to see what would happen, Lucius turned the tiny clasp that had held the box shut all those years. Suddenly, a bright green light was cast upon his entire office and the box shot from his hands, landing on the floor at his feet. From within the velvet green interior of the box, the sparkling silver image of the Malfoy family tree grew. The sight of his family tree growing root by root, branch by branch, was an amazing moment for Lucius Malfoy witness.

For several long minutes, Lucius and Narcissa watched as the name of every ancestor of the Malfoy line was laid before them. Both were quite excited to see their own names appear, and even more so when they saw Draco's. Once Draco's name had been inscribed on it's branch of the silvery hologram, something strange happened. Another tree sprouted up next to the Malfoy family tree and began listing the names of people that Lucius and Narcissa had never heard of. It wasn't until they saw the last name, Lovegood, that they realized who's family tree was growing next to theirs.

Once all of the Lovegood ancestors had been accounted for, Luna's name on her familial tree appeared. Without warning, the branches that contained Draco's and Luna's names grew towards each other, and once they were close enough, they began twining themselves together and caused a bright white burst of light, which forced Narcissa and Lucius to look away.

As the light dimmed, they opened their eyes. To their astonishment, the two trees had combined themselves, making one large family tree that contained the names of every member of both families, including the newest branch that stemmed from Draco's and Luna's branch, which read Landon Cooper Malfoy.

Stunned, Lucius looked over to his wife and said, "Now, that's not something you see everyday."

"No," Narcissa whispered, shaking her head. "It was beautiful, wasn't it?" Lucius nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Narcissa started to giggle.

"What are you laughing about?" Lucius asked, not exactly thrilled that she'd chosen to ruin the moment. "I fail to see what's so bloody funny."

"Its just that I'm kind of surprised that your family tree didn't try to get away from Luna's, that's all," Narcissa giggle. "I half expected the Malfoy tree to uproot and run away. You are a pretentious bunch."

"Have you met your family?" Lucius asked, flabbergasted that she had the nerve to call his family pretentious when she was a member of the Black family; you didn't get much more pretentious than that. "Your mother even looked down her nose at me... me!" Narcissa looked at her husband, still annoyed by the events that had taken place more than two decades ago. "Either way," she said, seriously. "I'm just glad that it went smoothly."

"Smoothly?" Lucius laughed. "_This_ may have gone off without a hitch, but you seem to have forgotten that Luna will still have to run the gauntlet; and by that I mean my living relatives. When they hear that Draco's engaged they'll be expecting an invitation to an engagement party. And you know from experience that the sole purpose of a Malfoy engagement party is to make the bride-to-be's life a living hell."

"Boy do I," Narcissa scoffed, recalling the torturous evening that had been her own engagement party. She'd nearly hexed Lucius' grandmother because the old witch had spent the entire evening tormenting her. "Thank Merlin your grandmother is dead."

"That's not a very nice thing to say," Lucius said, laughing. He knew how hard the old bird was to deal with, so he wasn't bothered by what his wife had said. Besides, he'd hated her too; luckily, she'd been an insanely wealthy old hag, so she'd more than atoned for her transgressions. "Everything will be fine," Lucius assured his wife. "Surprisingly, I like Luna, and I'll make sure that everyone knows it. Since they're all terrified of me, they'll keep their words as gentle as possible."

"You're a cocky bastard," Narcissa said, shaking her head, but secretly loving his attitude.

"Yes," Lucius agreed. "But not without reason. What do you say we go pay Luna's father a visit. We can share the good news with them. I'm sure her father will be thrilled."

"Sounds lovely," Narcissa said, kissing her husband before heading up to her room to get change.

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When Lucius and Narcissa had shown up at Lovegood Estates, Luke Lovegood was more than just a bit surprised to see them. At first he'd thought that something was wrong, but when Draco's parents delivered the good news to him and his new wife, Rosmerta, they'd been overjoyed. He knew that things had been going very well between Draco and Luna as of late, and he was sure that his daughter was absolutely head over heels for Draco; but he hadn't expected them to get engaged so soon. Luna had made it pretty clear that they were going to take things slow, so hearing that they were already engaged came as a bit of a shock. Nevertheless, Luke was thrilled that his daughter had finally agreed to the inevitable, and was going to become Mrs. Draco Malfoy.

Unable to contain their excitement, their parents decided to head straight over to the kids' house and congratulate them. Just as they were heading out the door, a thought came to Narcissa.

"Maybe we should wait for them to tell us," she said, grabbing hold of her husband's arm to stop him. "This is their news to share. We probably shouldn't just barge in and tell them that we already know."

"Perhaps..." Lucius began, trying to process what his wife was saying. Maybe she was right; it would be quite rude.

"I can see where you're coming from Narcissa," Luke interjected. "But I know my Luna, and she's the sort that likes to wait for the perfect moment to give the good news, and there's no telling how long that'll be from now. I don't think I can keep my knowing about their engagement a secret, and I don't think either of you can either."

"True," Narcissa laughed. "Well, we can just blame Lucius if they're upset about it."

"I beg your pardon," Lucius piped in, glaring at his wife. "Blame me?"

"Yes, you," Narcissa repeated. "You're responsible for ninety-nine percent of all meddling that takes place in their relationship, therefore, it's only natural for you to shoulder this blame also."

"Maybe I'll blame you," Lucius countered, cockily.

"Who do you think Draco's going to believe? You or Me?" Narcissa asked, cocking her eyebrow at her husband. Lucius knew she was right. No matter how hard he'd tried during the boy's youth, and no matter how devoted a son Draco had been, Lucius had never been able to change the fact that his son was Mama's boy through and through.

"Damn it," Lucius hissed, storming past his wife. He wasn't really mad, he just knew he'd been beaten and he hated it with a passion. "Well come on, will you," Lucius griped, holding out his hand for his wife, so they could sidelong apparate to Draco's house.

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As the afternoon had progressed, Luna and Draco had finally put some clothes on and had moved their game of Scrabble, if that's what you want to call spelling out inappropriate things on a game board, downstairs into the sitting room, so that Landon could play with some of his toys that were kept down there. Even though the pair had just gotten engaged, little changed in their behavior towards one another. Inwardly, Luna had felt that things would feel different after they'd made it official, but they didn't, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Deciding not to dwell, she proclaimed it a good thing and went on with their game.

"So, Mrs. Luna Malfoy... Mrs. Draco Malfoy," Draco said, liking the way the words rolled off his tongue. It just sounded right. "Beat that." Draco lay down his tiles on the game board, spelling out the word, boobs. "That's a lot of points for such a small word, huh?" Draco gloated.

"Shut up," Luna griped, not liking the fact that he was beating her senseless. He had almost twice as many points as she did. Luna wasn't sure if that was because he knew twice as many inappropriate words, or if he was just better at the game than she was; either way, she wasn't keen on losing. "Maybe we should play something else."

"So says the loser," Draco laughed, pushing up onto his forearms so he could lean across the game board and kiss her. As he did so, he felt something tugging at the leg of his pant. Begrudgingly, he broke their kiss, so he could see what it was.

To Draco and Luna's astonishment, Landon had managed to crawl from his spot on his blankey a few feet away, to reach his parents. This was a big deal. Landon was just seven months old and he'd never once crawled before.

"Did you see that!" Draco shouted, more excited then he could ever recall having been before. It seemed funny to him that after everything he'd been through, even after Luna had just accepted his proposal hours earlier; if someone had asked him what his favorite moment ever was, Draco would have named that very moment. "We gave birth to the smartest baby ever! My mom said he shouldn't start crawling around for another month or two!" Luna could hardly contain her excitement either. Draco was right. Landon still had a while before he was supposed to start crawling.

While Luna and Draco rather loudly doted over Lanny for crawling across the room, their parents stood outside the front door, impatiently waiting for someone to answer it. They'd been knocking for nearly two minutes and still there was no response, so Lucius, being the impatient man he is, just opened the door and went inside. All the way in the foyer, their parents could hear them carrying on, so they followed the sounds of their laughs to the sitting room.

"What on Earth are you doing?" Lucius asked, cocking his head to the side, as he tried to figure out what was going on. Draco, who was holding Landon against his chest, and Luna, were standing on the couching, dancing around giddily, while Lanny giggled uncontrollably. At the sound of his fathers voice, Draco stopped, rooting himself to his spot on the couch. Luna on the other hand, quickly dismounted from atop the furniture and took a seat next to Draco's feet on the disheveled cushions.

"Landon crawled all the way from over by his blankey to there," Draco said, pointing to the game board that lay in the middle of the floor. "Me and Luna were making out," he hadn't actually meant to say that part, but it had slipped out, "and he just crawled over and started pulling on my pants. He did it without any help. He's the smartest baby ever."

"He crawled," Narcissa said, excitedly, rushing over and taking Landon out of her son's arms before pulling him down off of the furniture by the leg of his pants. "That's fantastic!"

"I know," Draco said, sitting down next to Luna and putting his arm around her shoulder. "I taught him that."

"You did not," Luna said, turning to him with a look of disbelief on her face. "When did you teach him that?"

"I crawl around in front of him all the time," Draco lied.

"Bullshit," Luna said, before she could catch herself. Her father and Narcissa shot her a look that said, 'watch your mouth'. "You do not. He figured it out all on his own." Luna stood to go stand by Narcissa, who held Landon, and kissed the boy repeatedly. "Don't try to take credit for his cleverness."

"Fine," Draco muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Well, I just don't see how this day could get any better," Lucius said, moving from his place in the doorway to stand in the middle of the room by the Scrabble board. "First you two get engaged, and now Landon's crawling. I'd say its been a very productive Saturday."

"Yep," Draco agreed, smiling broadly. "Wait... how do you know Luna and I are engaged?" Draco knew that neither of them had even had a chance to bring it up yet, what with the hub bub over Landon crawling for the first time. Immediately, in typical Draco fashion, he jumped to the wrong conclusion. "Have you been spying on us? Do you watch us when we think we're alone, because we think no one's watching us?"

"What?" Lucius asked, his son's last statement not having made much sense.

"Of course they're not spying on us," Luna interjected, not exactly sure if that were true or not. She couldn't quite figure out how Lucius had found out they were engaged either. "How did you hear about it?"

"I can't say," Lucius said. "It's something that's passed down generation to generation, and until your engagement ring has been replaced with your wedding ring, I can't even tell Draco about it. Hell, I didn't find out what it was all about until today."

"Damn Malfoy's and their secrets," Draco grumbled, forgetting that he was talking about his own family. "Way to spoil the surprise."

"Its not spoiled," Narcissa said. "We're all thrilled by the news. We couldn't be happier." Narcissa said, handing her grandson over to his grandfather. As she walked over to Draco, Narcissa stepped past the Scrabble board. Glancing down, she was shocked to see what it said. "What on Earth!" she exclaimed, reading over the various and rather explicit words and phrases. Curiously, Lucius, Luke and Rosmerta glanced down at the board; their eyes widening with shock.

"Oh, that's nothing," Luna said, her cheeks having turned a bright shade of red. "Its just this stupid game Draco found at the baby store."

"Baby store?" Narcissa asked, still in shock over what she'd read. "What exactly are you trying to teach Landon. Its a bit early for sex education don't you think?"

"Its never too early for sex education," Lucius laughed, Luke joining in as well. Seeing that both his father and Luna's father found it funny, Draco felt that it was okay to laugh at his mother's being appalled by what they'd been playing.

"Yeah," Luke said. "I'm sure Lanny's first girlfriend will appreciate it."

"For the love of Merlin!" Narcissa gasped, shaking her head. "Thanks Luke. The last thing my husband needs is a partner in crime. At least, Severus was a bit more restrained with his antics."

"By the way," Rosmerta chimed in, pointing at the board. "Whoever put vagina down, spelled it wrong."

"I did not," Draco said, lunging towards the board to inspect it. Sure enough, he'd spelled it wrong.

"Deduct those points from your total," Luna said, quickly, tossing the score card at him. "You don't get the points if you spelled it wrong."

"What's the matter with you two!" Narcissa said, her prudish nature coming through.

"Lighten up," Lucius said, placing his hands on his wifes tense shoulders. "It's just a game. And I have a sneaking suspicion that this isn't how its actually supposed to be played, its just the manifestation of their overactive imaginations." Lucius gave both Luna and Draco a knowing look. "But with all joking aside, we are all absolutely thrilled that you two have decided to get married."

"How did you propose?" Narcissa asked, her mood softening now that her husband had changed the topic. Luna and Draco burst out laughing, at her question.

"It was really romantic," Draco said, once he was able to quell his laughter. "First we apparated to the coast and had this really romantic breakfast that I had set up right on the shoreline, and we watched the sunrise. And then, just as we finished eating, I cast a spell that made the stars form the words Luna Lovegood, will you marry me?"

"And I said yes," Luna piped in, barely able to get it out due to her still laughing quite hard.

"Oh, that's beautiful," Narcissa and Rosmerta said in unison.

"Really?" Lucius asked, skeptically, unable to get past some of the parts that didn't make much sense. Lucius was almost positive that there wasn't a spell that would make the stars line up in that fashion, and he was also sure that the stars wouldn't still be out if they were watching the sunrise.

"No," Draco said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm lying. It actually just sort of slipped out during Scrabble. I had just spelled out blowjob, and Luna put down scrotum, and I blurted out, 'will you marry me' and she said, 'okay'."

"Are you joking?" Narcissa asked, not quite sure if he was just screwing with her again. Draco shook his head, laughing.

"That is the lamest proposal I've ever heard of," Lucius said, joining in on his son's laughter.

"I know," Draco said, flopping back down next to Luna on the couch, who was also laughing uncontrollably. "I wasn't even sure she'd heard me right the first time, so I had to ask again a few minutes later."

"But... you can't tell people that!" Narcissa exclaimed, annoyed that everyone but her found this funny "When someone asks how you proposed, you cannot tell them that!"

"Why?" Luna asked, seriously. "I wouldn't have had it any other way."

"But it was so rash, so unplanned," Rosmerta agreed, unable to understand why Luna wasn't at all bother by the impromptu proposal.

"That's why I liked it," Luna explained. "If you'd been there you'd understand. It wasn't like he just asked me. It was more like he couldn't help but ask me, and that makes it all the more meaningful. He could have made a big fuss over it, which I'm sure he'd planned on doing when he'd thought about asking me; but in that moment, he just couldn't help himself, he had to ask me. Now that's passion; that's love... and that's why I said yes. If he'd made a big deal about it, I probably wouldn't have said yes."

"Why?" Draco and his mother asked, at the same time.

"Because then it would be like you were trying to sell yourself to me, and I don't want that. I don't need that. I just need you, and that's what I got," Luna said, as if it ought to be common knowledge. "And that's all I'll ever want."

"More kids right?" Draco asked, worriedly.

"Reasonably so," Luna agreed.

"Well, regardless, we've got to keep going until we have a girl," Draco said, hoping she'd agree. "If not, one of our boys is going to have to be a cross dresser, cause I've got a bunch of cute girl clothes that someones going to wear, damn it."

"Calm down," Lucius said, patting his son's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll get your girl."

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	31. Dull Is For Losers

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 31: Dull Is For Losers**

Once everyone had recovered from the shock of discovering Luna and Draco's Scrabble game, Narcissa and Rosmerta started grilling the bride-to-be about wedding plans. Luna had hoped to take things slow, but as with everything else that had to do with the Malfoy family, it was a whirlwind. Before she knew it, Luna was holed up in her office with Narcissa and Rosmerta actually making plans. Narcissa was hounding Luna for a wedding date. A date! Luna couldn't believe it. She'd only been engaged for a few hours and they were already trying to get her to commit to a time.

"Mrs. Malfoy," Luna said, pleadingly. "I really haven't given this much thought. We've only just gotten engaged." Luna hoped that Draco's mum would ease off a bit, but unfortunately that would not be the case.

"Well think about it," Narcissa chirped, happily. Luna couldn't help but feel like Draco's mum had been waiting for this wedding for as long as her son had been alive. "The years coming to an end, and I'm sure that you'll want to get married before the rain starts, so we'll have to hurry with the plans." Luna could practically feel the panic starting to set in.

"Draco!" she called out, rushing over to the door. "Draco!" she yelled down the hall, when her first attempt had yielded no results. The sound of his footsteps approaching was the only thing that was able to calm her nerves.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, noticing how pale her face had gotten since he'd last seen her.

"Your Mum is trying to get me to set a date for the wedding," Luna said, sounding as panicked as she looked. "A date... already. Can you believe it?"

"I figured you'd want to get married in the Spring," Draco said, not realizing right away that she wanted him to help her out of the situation, not help her pick a date. "I kind of pictured you and me getting hitched outside, while the sun was setting. You'd have pretty flowers in your hair, which would be curled and you'd wear it down... a pretty white dress; not one of those ball gowns or anything, just something slinky, understated, so your natural beauty could be the star. Maybe that's just me though," Draco said, a serene smile on his face as he glanced down at his future wife. Draco knew that his mother wouldn't let up. When Narcissa Malfoy set her sights on something, she didn't rest until she got it; and if she wanted a date for the wedding to be set, Luna wasn't leaving that room until she'd gotten it. So instead of trying to 'rescue' her, Draco tried to please both his mother and his soon-to-be wife.

"That sounds nice," Luna said, softly, letting Draco cup her face in his hand, his thumb lazily stroking her cheek. "You've given this some thought."

"Uh huh," Draco said, pulling her towards him so that her head rest under his chin. "I always figured we'd have a fairly small ceremony. Something intimate, just our family and close friends and maybe a reporter or two, to please my father. Maybe we could wait until mid-May, so all the flowers are in bloom and April showers are over. That way we can get married outside with all the beautiful flowers and trees, without having to get soaked to the bone because of sun showers. I bet the Minister of Magic himself, or even Dumbledore, would agree to head the ceremony."

"That would be lovely," Luna said, getting a bit excited about the actual wedding after hearing Draco's rendition. "Let's do that."

"What?" Draco asked, unsure of which detail he'd described that she was fond of.

"All of it," Luna said. "Exactly as you said it. It sounds perfect, like the wedding I'd actually want if I'd sat down and dreamed it up."

"Then its settled," Narcissa said, jolting Luna and Draco out of their private conversation. Luna had been so wrapped up in picturing the thoughtful and well planned imaginary ceremony Draco was describing, that she'd forgotten that Narcissa and Rosmerta were even there. "Rosie and I will get started on interviewing wedding planners, so you needn't worry about a thing. The only thing you'll have to do Luna, is give the final okay on all of the details. After all, this is your wedding. Oh, and your gowns will be your little pet project. I'll contact the premiere wedding gown designer to meet with you, so you two can talk over how you want to look for the big day."

"Oh, this is so exciting," Rosmerta said, hugging Narcissa tightly. Luna and Draco rolled their eyes, as the two grown women giggled mercilessly about the impending wedding. "It's November, so the wedding is just about five months away. Five months!"

"Merlin, there's so much to do," Narcissa gasped, rushing out of the room, Rosmerta following close behind. As the two witches headed down the hall, Draco and Luna could hear them going on about how Lucius needed to contact the Prophet and have them put an announcement in the paper about their engagement.

"So much for keeping it low key," Luna laughed, wrapping her arms around Draco's neck.

"Yeah," Draco said, nodding. "You gotta love them, otherwise you'd kill them."

"Where's Lanny?" Luna asked, letting Draco trail kisses down the side of her neck.

"Father's giving him the 'what it takes to be a Malfoy' speech again," Draco laughed. So far, poor Lanny had been forced to endure that speech three times, and that's only counting the one's Draco knew about. Who knows how many times the he'd had to sit through it while Luna and Draco were out on one of their dates.

"Again?" Luna asked.

"Father calls it being thorough," he said.

"Thorough?" Luna said, wiggling an eyebrow at him. "So that's where you get your being thorough from." Draco just laughed, knowing that they weren't talking about speeches anymore. "Can you believe he crawled?" she asked, changing the topic.

"No," Draco said, pulling away from her slightly, so he could look at her face. "I'm still in shock. My Mum says that things are going to change, big time. She's says that once he's mobile, he becomes a handful, or at least I was. Lanny may be different. All I know is, Lanny can't make friends with any other babies for a while. Dad told me that Blaise, Goyle, Vincent and I used to drive our Mums crazy when we were together; and for our sanity's sake, I'd like to maybe avoid that."

"So, it looks like we've got a rather interesting few months in front of us," Luna sighed.

"I think it's more like an interesting seventeen years," Draco corrected. "Not that I'm complaining; it'll be interesting."

"No, you're right, interesting is good," Luna replied, pressing her lips against his.

"Yeah, who needs boring," Draco agreed, kissing her back. "Dull is for losers... and Malfoy's aren't losers."

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SORRY THIS WAS SUCH A SHORT CHAPTER. JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL SKIP AHEAD TO A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE WEDDING. NARCISSA SAID THAT SHE WAS GOING TO HAVE A WEDDING PLANNER HANDLE MOST OF THE WEDDING DETAILS, SO I DON'T PLAN ON WRITING ABOUT THAT PART. STILL, IT SHOULD BE PRETTY INTERESTING. PLUS. I'VE A NICE BUMP IN THE ROAD IN STORE FOR THEM : )

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	32. A Not So Friendly Game of Quidditch

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 32: A Not So Friendly Game of Quidditch**

Draco had officially changed his mind. Landon's learning how to crawl was not the best moment in his life, it was the worst. Well, maybe not the worst, but it was right up there. His mother hadn't been kidding when she said that things were going to change, and she'd hit the nail right on the head when she said that Landon's mobility would drive them up the wall. Not once since the baby had been born had either of his parents ever lost or misplaced him, but now that Landon was able to crawl, he made it a point to never stay in one place too long. All his parents had to do was turn their heads for a moment or two, and he was off. It had gotten so bad, that Luna had put up wards that would go off every time Landon passed through them, that way they'd always be able to track where he'd gone off too.

Luckily, Draco had made sure that the decorators baby proofed the manor when they had decorated it, otherwise, there would have been a great many opportunities for the baby to get hurt. Even still, Landon had managed to incur the usual bumps and bruises a mobile baby is faced with. While Draco knew that these accidents were unavoidable, thanks to Lanny's curiosity and mischievous nature, after all he was a Malfoy; Luna on the other hand, took it to mean that she was an irresponsible mother. No matter what Draco or their parents said to her, Luna was convinced that every bump, bruise or scratch that Lanny had on his body was a testament of her failure as a parent. So, after only having been at her job for a few months, Luna went to her father and informed him that she would be unable to take the position as editor of the Quibbler.

Luke had been disappointed that his daughter wasn't going to fill in his shoes at the Quibbler, but at the same time he understood why. All she wanted was to be a good mother, and if she didn't feel that she could do that while heading up one of the largest magazines in the Wizarding World, then he was okay with her passing on his offer. Luckily, Luna did agree to take the position as creative advisor, which meant that she would be present for all board meetings. This was a big deal for the Quibbler, because Luna had come up with a great many ideas that would change the entire layout of the paper, along with peoples perception of the company. Luke knew that without her help, they probably wouldn't be able to put those ideas into action.

Another reason Luna's father was okay with his daughters decision to leave the Quibbler on a full-time basis, was because he had a sneaking suspicion that Draco had something big planned, that had to do with her research on a cure for Obliviate. He didn't have a clue what it could be, but Lucius had made several offhand comments about it over the last few weeks, and Luke couldn't get it out of his head.

Ever since the afternoon they'd found out that their children where getting married, Luke and Lucius had become almost inseparable, much to Narcissa chagrin. As she'd said that afternoon, when Lucius and Severus had gotten together, Severus had more often than not, talked Lucius out of doing some of the rather stupid things he'd had planned. But Luke didn't do that. Instead, he egged Lucius on and encouraged him. She knew that if those two walked through the door, trying their best to look innocent, chances were they'd done something stupid... something really stupid. She couldn't help but compare it to the trouble that Draco and his friends had caused in their youth, except now she didn't have to contend with thirteen year olds and their magical capabilities, but middle aged wizards and their magical expertise.

On the upside, Lucius and Luke's friendship, allowed her the opportunity to get to know Rosmerta, and the two had developed a very close friendship too. Ever since the fall of the Dark Lord, his surviving and un-imprisoned former followers had made it a point to sever ties with one another, as to avoid suspicions; the only exception being those who were married to one another. So, Narcissa had lost most of her close friends. Rosmerta, who had always been a friendly woman, had a rather large circle of friends and she had been more than willing to introduce Narcissa to them. While most already knew who she was, and because of this they were wary, eventually they warmed up to her.

As Narcissa and Lucius' circle of friends increased, the less likely it seemed that Draco and Luna were going to get their small intimate ceremony. They'd planned on it being just their family and close friends, but Narcissa and Lucius had mentioned that they wanted to invite all of the their new friends as well. Seeing how happy they were, neither of their children argued, but inwardly they were ready to start throwing hexes.

"Draco," Luna said, as she and her fiance headed up the drive to Malfoy Manor, Draco pushing Landon's stroller in front of him. "Your Mum and Rosmerta are driving me mad. Everyday, their at the house trying to get me to decide on something for the wedding. The wedding planner's at the house so much, Landon keeps calling him Mama."

"When do you think he'll start saying Dada?" Draco asked, a slightly offended tone to his voice. "Its been weeks since he started with that Mama crap and I don't think I can take being called that much longer."

"He'll start saying it when he's ready," Luna sighed. "Now will you stop changing the subject."

"Sorry, love," Draco laughed. "My Mum just doesn't want you to feel like they're taking over your wedding that's all. She wants you to feel like you planned it and that its what you want, not what they want you to want."

"I know they mean well, but it seems like they only come over when Landon's taking a nap, and as soon as he hears that we have company, he's up, and he expects to be the center of attention," Luna laughed, Draco joining in. They both knew that Landon was a ham. When he was in the room, all eyes had better be on him, or he'd throw a fit.

"Promise you won't get mad?" Draco asked, gently taking hold of Luna's arm and making her stop walking towards the house.

"No," Luna said. She knew that if he started out by making her promise that she wouldn't get mad, chances were he was about to say something that would piss her off.

"Come on," he begged. "Promise me you won't get mad."

"Fine," she huffed. "What?"

"I don't think its the wedding that's got you so crabby." Draco declared. "I think your bored."

"I'm not bored," Luna countered, her arms crossed over her chest. "I decided to stay home with Landon and I'm completely satisfied with that choice"

"Uncross your arms," Draco laughed, doing it for her. "I know that when you stand like that it means you're getting mad, and you promised you wouldn't get angry." Luna rolled her eyes, but let him lay her arms down at her sides. "I know you don't regret it, but we both know that you're not the sort of person who can be happy with just doing one thing all the time. I think that maybe you should take up painting again. You put together your painting room months ago, and you haven't painted a single thing. Or maybe even start doing some... I don't know, research."

"Landon keeps me busy," Luna said, leaning over and kissing Draco on the cheek. "But thanks for caring. Now can we get inside, its freezing out here and I don't want Lanny to catch a cold?"

"Alright," Draco said, smiling to himself. _'You'll be singing a different tune, when I give you your present,'_ he thought, inwardly praising his sneakiness.

"Do you think Blaise and Goyle are here yet?" Luna asked, turning back from where she was a few feet ahead of Draco, after having taken over pushing Landon's stroller.

"Probably," Draco answered, jogging to catch up with her. "All my father had to say was 'do you and your Dad's want to come over for a friendly game of Quidditch', and they were on their way."

"So, how _friendly_ do you think this game is going to be?" Luna asked, a wiry smile on her face.

"No doubt it'll be brutal," he laughed. "You've got a group of middle-aged wizards who are in denial of the fact that their getting old, so they decide to challenge their young son's to a game of Quidditch. Needless to say, we're going to hand them their balls on a stick."

"Go easy on them," Luna said, sounding a bit worried. Draco may be right, their fathers were trying to reaffirm their youth, but it wasn't like they were dealing with your everyday wizards. They were dealing with mostly dark wizards, none of whom liked to lose; and the most dangerous of the bunch happened to be her soon-to-be husbands, father. "Be careful," Luna called out, as Draco headed to the full sized Quidditch pitch his father had built in their backyard when Draco was just eight years old. Luna didn't think Draco was taking this friendly Quidditch game serious enough, and chances were, he'd end up regretting it.

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"I thought you said this was going to be a nice afternoon," Narcissa huffed, as she held open the front door so Blaise and Goyle could carry Goyle Sr. inside. Turns out, things had gone exactly as Draco had said they would. It had been a brutal game, and though they'd tried, their father's simply couldn't get the upper hand. This wouldn't have been the case under normal circumstances, because they simply would have used magic to hold their opponents at bay. But since these were their children, and because their wives had made it very clear that if they so much as harmed a single hair on their 'babies' heads, they would be 'tending to their own needs for months'; they refrained from using magic to their advantage. This restraint, resulted in the fathers being completely obliterated by their sons.

"Well, now that this pathetic display is over with, maybe you guys can help us come up with some ideas for the menu for the wedding," Narcissa said, earning her groans from all of the men and Luna. "Well if you're going to act like that, then we don't want your help," she snapped. "Us ladies will take care of it."

"Actually," Draco said, sensing that Luna was about to snap. "I was hoping that maybe you guys could watch Lanny for a bit. I kind of wanted to take Luna out for supper. I've got a present to give her."

"Ohhh," Blaise and Goyle said at the same time, in a mocking manner. "What kind of present?"

"I think they're going to shag," Blaise said, laughing.

"No, I've got a very special gift to give her. You know, the one you two helped me pick out," Draco said, urging his friends to shut up.

"Oh," Blaise said, winking at Draco. "Yeah, you two lovebirds head out, Goyle and me will watch the Lanster."

"I thought we agreed that you would never call my grandson that again," Lucius said, glaring at Blaise warningly.

"Right you are, Mr. Malfoy," Blaise corrected, patting him on the shoulder, knowing full well that it would hurt the ailing middle-aged wizard. Lucius winced as his body shook thanks to Blaise's ministrations, before slapping the boys hand away.

"Narcissa wouldn't you rather keep Landon with you?" Luna asked pleadingly. "I'm sure you boys would like to spend some time with your other friends today.

"No, we'll watch the baby," Goyle said, plucking Landon up from out of Luna's arms and heading down the hall. "Come on Lanny, lets get you changed so we can go pick up some chicks."

"Draco," Luna huffed, gesturing at Goyle and Blaise's retreating forms.

"It'll be okay," Draco said, hoping to comfort her. "They're a lot smarter than they look... I think." Luna didn't look too convinced. "Look, I'm going to run upstairs and get showered and changed, and then we'll head up to Muggle London for a nice relaxing evening, okay. Don't worry about Landon. He'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say," Luna grumbled, plopping down next to her dad, who looked completely exhausted after the game of Quidditch, and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Luna, love," her dad said, wincing. "Can you move you head, my shoulder's killing me from when I fell off my broom."

"I don't see why you're complaining," Severus Snape piped in, "you landed on me." Everyone started laughing, recalling the rather comical sight of Luke falling from his broom and taking Severus out in the process, both landing in a heap on the ground. The sound of their laughter must have gotten Landon's attention, as a few moments later, Snape felt something tugging on his pants leg. Looking down, he saw the trademark Malfoy eyes belonging to Landon, staring up at him. The baby's arms were outstretched, beckoning Severus to pick him up. To appease the child, Snape bent down, slowly thanks to his sore back, and retrieved the baby from the floor, sitting him atop his lap. Curling up against Snape's chest, Landon lay down and closed his eyes.

"Where the hell did he go?" Blaise could be heard hissing, down the hall. "Its been five minutes and we've already lost him. Draco's going to kick our asses!"

"I wouldn't be as worried about Draco as I was Luna," Goyle said, sounding worried. "You lost her kid."

"Me?" Blaise asked. "You're just as much a part of this as I am."

"No, you put him down on the floor, not me," Goyle countered. "This is all on you."

"Are you kidding me!" Blaise shouted. "This is bullshit! What ever happened to friendship?"

"It doesn't count when it comes to losing our best mates baby," Goyle replied, walking into the sitting room where everyone else was. Immediately his eyes zoned in on the tiny baby nestled against Snape's chest. "Blaise!" he called. "I think I found that _thing_ we were looking for."

"Narcissa," Luna said,her voice slightly panicked, "do you think you could watch those two for me?"

"Planned on it," Narcissa replied, winking at the concerned young mother. "I've got my hands full tonight," she whispered, laying her head against her husbands shoulder. Lucius was too busy pouting over having lost the Quidditch match to notice.

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I CHANGED MY MIND. INSTEAD OF JUST SKIPPING OVER THE TIME BETWEEN CHAPTER 31 AND THE WEDDING, I'M GOING TO WRITE A FEW SHORT CHAPTERS ON IT; AND I DO MEAN SHORT. THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR DRACO TO MAKE A MESS OF THINGS, FOR ME TO JUST PASS OVER IT. SO, DON'T BE SURPRISED IF THE NEXT COUPLE OF CHAPTERS ARE ONLY A PAGE OR TWO LONG, THEY'LL RETURN TO THEIR USUAL LENGTH ONCE THE WEDDING IS CLOSER.

ALSO JUST SO YOU GUY'S NO, WHILE I'M NOT A HUGE FAN OF THE TRIO, THERE IS A POINT TO MY MAKING THEM SEEM LIKE SUCH JACKASSES, AND WHY HARRY AND RON ARE HAVING A BIT OF A PROBLEM WITH ALCOHAL. IT'LL ALL BE EXPLAINED PRETTY SOON.

ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR AMAZING REVIEWS. YOUR INPUT HELPS ME FIGURE OUT IF I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK OR NOT : )

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ENJOY STORIES WHERE DRACO AND THE TRIO GET ALONG, YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE A PEEK AT THE FIRST STORY I EVER WROTE, CALLED **INTENDED**. IT'S ABOUT DRACO AND AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER, BUT THE TRIO MAKE THEIR PRESCENCE KNOWN. IT'S KIND OF LONG, BUT I THINK ITS A PRETTY DECENT READ.

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	33. The Gift of Giving

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 33: The Gift of Giving**

Draco was so nervous. After all of the time and effort he'd put into going back in time to retrieve Luna's research, it was actually time for him to give it to her, and he didn't think he'd actually be able to go through with it. He'd planned the entire evening out in his mind, so it would be perfect, and yet still, he couldn't quite work up the nerve.

After he'd showered and dressed, Draco met Luna down in the foyer of his parents mansion and, after kissing his son goodbye, they left. Luna was a bit more comfortable with the idea of leaving Landon at Malfoy Manor while they were gone, because after Snape had picked Lanny up, the boy had simply refused to leave the older wizard be. Granted, Snape would have preferred to have been baby free that afternoon, he secretly enjoyed the time he was able to spend with the boy. After all, he and his mystery wife were trying to conceive, and it would be good practice. In the back of her mind, Luna had to admit she was worried that Snape might say something mean to Landon, but since he was still a baby and wouldn't understand what his words meant, she didn't let it deter her from leaving her son in his care. Plus, Narcissa had promised that she would keep her eye on them, so Luna was able to breath easy.

Before they headed to the restaurant, Draco took Luna into Muggle London, so that they could go by the bank where he'd stored her research in a safe deposit box. Luna didn't have the slightest idea where they were, and Draco made her wait in the lobby while he retrieved the portfolio from the box. Luna was kind of worried that he was being so secretive about this present he had to give her, but since she loved presents, and Draco also gave really great gifts, she didn't let it hand in her mind too much.

Before shrinking the portfolio down to a size that he could fit into his pocket, Draco charmed it so that it was beautifully wrapped, with a big bow on top. Once it was concealed within his pocket, he rejoined Luna in the lobby.

"So where's this present?" she asked, giddily.

"In due time," Draco said, knowing that the suspense was killing her. "I'll give it to you after supper."

"Is there a reason you're giving me a present?" Luna asked, curiously, as Draco held the door open for her.

"Just cause I love you," he said, knowing that it would earn him big bonus points.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were up to something" Luna said, smirking at him.

"Who, me?" Draco asked, feigning innocence. After making sure that no Muggles could see them, Draco and Luna apparated to the restaurant. Their table and supper, which Draco had ordered ahead of time, was already waiting for them.

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"Can I have my present now?" Luna asked, as she slid her plate that held the remainder of her desert to the side so that the waiter could take it.

"Since you've been so good," Draco said, reaching into his pocket. Knowing that the gift he was giving wasn't actually supposed to exist, Draco had made sure that the table they had been seated at was in one of the secluded back rooms, so that no one would know what was going on. After the waiter had removed their plates and was no longer in the room, Draco enlarged the gift wrapped box that held her research, and waited for Luna to open it. Just as she was getting ready to take the top of the box off, Draco placed his hands over Luna's to stop her. "Before you open it, I just want you to know that I'm not trying to pressure you or anything. I just thought that you might want it back." Taking his hands from over hers, Draco allowed Luna to open her gift.

The moment Luna laid eyes on the familiar worn brown binding of her research portfolio, she knew what it was. But she was conflicted, since she knew that it wasn't possible. All of her research on the Oblivate cure had been destroyed. There just wasn't anyway that it had been salvaged.

"What is this?" she asked, her eyes tearing up. Reaching inside the box, she pulled out the book. Turning it over in her hands, she scrutinized it, sure that this had to be the real thing but still unable to understand how it had happened. Opening it up, the familiar scent of old parchment assaulted her senses, forcing her to let loose the tears she'd been tyring to hold back. Scribbled all over the hundreds of pages of parchment in her neat and tiny handwriting, were the years of research and experiments Luna had conducted before having them ripped away by her former Potions Master several years earlier. "But... how?" she whispered. "It was burned."

"My Mum had a Time Turner," Draco began explaining. "Don't worry, I was really careful with all of my calculations and absolutely nothing was affected by our going back."

"Our?" she asked.

"Blaise and Goyle came with me," Draco replied, earning him a shocked look from his fiance. Luna couldn't believe that Draco would take those two on so dangerous a trip. They weren't all that well known for their tact. "They were great. No one really gives them enough credit. I couldn't have done it without them."

"Snape didn't notice?" Luna asked, still not sure exactly how to express her gratitude to Draco for what he'd done.

"He almost caught me," Draco said, laughing. "I replaced the real portfolio with an exact replica, complete with random research written on the parchment inside of it. So, when he chucked it in the fireplace, he was just burning random notes, not your research. We got out of there before anyone had a chance to notice us."

"Draco... I don't know what to say..."

"You don't have to say anything," Draco assured her, his hand cupped her face so he could wipe away the tears that were steadily falling. "Whether you wanted to admit it or not, I know how much it hurt you to have something so dear to you stolen like it was. I know that it changed who you were as a person, and I wanted to be the one to give it back to you."

"I'd say thank you, but I don't see how that's enough," Luna whispered, her voice cracking due to the intense emotion that she was feeling.

"All I want you to say is that you'll think about starting your research again," Draco said, kissing her on the forehead. "You don't have to promise that you will, just promise that you'll think about it. You have the capacity to do so much for our world. It would be a shame if you didn't at least try."

"I promise I'll try," Luna said, happily. Draco didn't know it, or maybe he did, but losing her research had completely decimated her opinion of people and the world they lived in. The work she'd been doing to continue her mother's dream of a cure for the Obliviate charm, had meant everything to her. She tried to pretend like it was nothing, but that just wasn't the case. It would be impossible to put into words the magnitude of what Draco had done by getting it back for her.

"Oh, and a great shag wouldn't hurt either," Draco added at the last minute, while he was helping her with her coat.

"Trust me," Luna said, clutching her portfolio tightly against her chest. "There are a great many fantastic shags in your future." Draco mouthed the word, 'yes', behind her back.

"Here, let me shrink that and put it back in my pocket," he said, trying to pry her hands off of the portfolio. "Snape is still at the house, and I bet he'd recognize it if he saw it." Begrudgingly, Luna let her research slip out of her hands, but she watched very closely as her soon-to-be husband made it smaller and placed it within his breast pocket. Without warning, Luna kissed him, hoping to some how make him see just how wonderful a person he was, for doing what he'd done, but knowing that no number of kisses would ever be able to express that.

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"Have you seen this evenings edition of the Prophet yet?" Narcissa asked, just as Luna and Draco entered the foyer of Malfoy Manor, so they could pick up their son.

"No," Draco said, happily. "Why?" Narcissa handed the paper to her son, so he could read the rather interesting development that had taken place just hours earlier. The headline on the front page of the Prophet read, 'HARRY POTTER, RON WEASLEY CHECK THEMSELVES INTO REHAB!' "Whoa," Draco whispered, not having expected to see that on the front page.

"Rehab?" Luna asked, looking confused. "Why in the hell would they go into rehab?"

"Didn't you pay attention to the articles and photos that they Prophet prints that account Potty and Weaslby's adventures into to drunkardom?" Draco asked, laughingly. "They've been hooked on the juice for over a year now."

"I don't pay attention to those articles," Luna said, not having expected to hear of her former friends hard luck. "Hermione too?"

"No," Draco said, sounding a bit disappointed. "She's her usual know-it-all self. But I'm pretty sure that she and Weasley are on the outs. Last I saw, she seemed like she was tired of his crap."

"That's terrible," Luna gasped. "I figured they'd get married."

"I thought you'd be happy about this," Draco said.

"Happy?" Luna scoffed. "Why would I be happy to hear of their misfortune?"

"Good point," Draco replied, realizing that he was talking about Luna, not himself. Truth be told, he got a great deal of enjoyment out of their misery. _'It's about time,'_ Draco thought, relishing in Potter and Weasley's rough luck. As Draco was busy laughing to himself over the headline, Luna took the paper from his hands and began to read the actual article.

_...Early this morning, just before departing for the Rehabilitation Clinic at St Mungo's, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley sat down with the reporter for the Prophet, to give them an exclusive statement about their decision._

_"It all became too much," Harry Potter said, running his hands through his, even more disheveled than usual, hair. "Everyone was so busy praising us for winning the final battle that no one really stepped back and gave us any room to breath. It was suffocating us." "Yeah," Ron Weasley, agreed. "So, instead of pushing them away, we let them keep at it, and eventually we got caught up in the entire mess. All the parties and admiration got to our heads. Alcohol was an easy way of coping with it."_

_When asked how it affected their personal relationships, both Harry and Ron agreed that alcohol, along with the fame, directly led to the end of their long term relationships. "I love Hermione with all my heart, but I don't blame her for leaving me," Ron sighed, his blood-shot eyes filling with tears. "How many times can you break a girls heart and expect her to keep coming back? She kept telling me she'd had enough, but I just didn't listen, and now I've got to go through this without her. It sucks, but I brought it on myself. I want to be sober, I really do, we just need people to lay off a bit. Otherwise, I don't see how Harry and I will be able to recover. I just can't believe that this is my life. You know its bad when you're jealous of Draco Malfoy. I just don't see how things turned out so well for him. He's got his life on track and I hate to say it but I envy him. My Mum actually said that I could 'learn a thing or two from him' the other morning." Harry's opinion on the matter, is that, while they're grateful that people appreciate their sacrifices for the war effort, the war's over and they deserves the chance to live their lives just as everyone else does, outside of the public eye. The only reason they came to the Prophet with this was to avoid any other speculation about their whereabouts. "I'm so ashamed of the person I've become," Harry said, his voice cracking as he tried to contain his emotions. "I've been so cruel to people who didn't deserve it, all because I didn't know how to handle things. My life is in shambles and I can't even recall it turning that way since I was too drunk to notice. I want my life back, I want Ginny back, but I know that will never happen. I've just got to move forward. That's why Ron and I are focused wholeheartedly on sobering up and making something of our lives. All we ask is for some privacy."_

_In return for their openness and honesty, the Prophet has promised Harry Potter and Ron Weasley that all publications of their behavior and exploits will cease until after they have gotten their lives on track. It is our hope that our avid readers, and admirers of two of the bravest hero's our world had ever known, will allow them their space._

"That's awful," Luna said, sounding really sad.

"That's it," Draco said, suddenly, taking the paper out of her hands. "Stop reading that rubbish. I put a lot of effort into making this a nice evening and I'll be damned if Potty's sob story is going to ruin it."

"Draco really..." Narcissa said, chidingly.

"Tell my Mum the wonderful gift I gave you," Draco said, sounding a bit frantic. This was the last thing he needed. He risked so much to go back and get her research and now Potter and Weasley were putting her in a crummy mood. "Go on, tell her."

"He used the Time Turner you gave him to go back and replace the portfolio that had all of my research in it for the cure I was working on for Obliviate, with a fake one, so that Snape destroyed that one, not the real one," Luna said, her mood improving ten-fold. She really did adore Draco for what he'd done, and much to his satisfaction, not even hearing about her former friends woes was enough to spoil it.

"That's why you wanted my Time Turner?" Narcissa asked, sounding really touched. Draco nodded. "That's so sweet. I was so worried when you asked for it and then got all secretive about why you needed it. Does your father know how sweet a boy we raised?"

"Yes," Draco said. "I knew he'd be able to keep a secret, so I told him. If I'd told you, I knew you'd let it slip."

"No, I wouldn't," Narcissa argued, not really believing it herself. She knew that she probably would have accidentally told someone about it. "I can't believe your father didn't tell me."

"I made him promise he wouldn't," Draco informed her, smiling.

"Well," she huffed, "all that aside, I have to say I'm shocked to see that you've turned into such a sweet young man." Draco blushed at his mother's praise. "Your father could stand to learn a thing or two from you, just like Potter and Weasley." Turning to Luna, Narcissa said, "You're a lucky young lady to have my boy love you so much."

"And he's a lucky young man to have her," Lucius interjected, startling everyone. Shortly after Luna and Draco had left, most of the older men who had played in the Quidditch game that afternoon, had taken naps to try to sleep off some of their aches and pains. Four and a half hours later, Lucius was just now waking. "After all, she is one of the most beautiful witches our world has ever seen." Luna's cheeks colored at his words.

"Well you're in rare form," Narcissa huffed, rolling her eyes at her husband. She knew that after the beating his poor ego had taken that afternoon during the game, she'd have to put up with his blatant attempts at salvaging his pride for several more days.

"Where's Lanny?' Draco asked, sounding like he was already sick of his father's lines.

"He's with Severus," Narcissa replied. "Those two have become quite close. I swear, Lanny looks so much like you did when you were a baby, that when Severus holds him, its like we just went back in time nineteen years."

Quickly, since he was eager to get home to cash in on Luna's promise of a fantastic shag, Draco headed towards the sitting room to retrieve his son. The sight before him was certainly unexpected. Snape was lying fast asleep on the settee, with Lanny sleeping on his chest; a position that Draco had often found himself in with his son. It was a comforting sight too. To Draco, this signified that maybe everything would be okay. Maybe, just maybe, Severus would be able to get over his prejudice towards Luna. Because if he hated Luna, on principle, he'd have to hate Landon too; and that just didn't seem to be the case.

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	34. Revenge of the Wounded Ego

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 34: Revenge of the Wounded Ego**

The five months before Draco and Luna's wedding, quickly began to dwindle, and before Luna knew it, the wedding was just six short weeks away. Most of the important details of the ceremony had already been decided, leaving just Luna's dress and the final guest list in question. The matter of Luna's dress was one that would be easily solved, were she to quit canceling her appointments with the designer. But no matter how hard she tried to keep her appointments, Luna just wasn't looking forward to being cooped up with Rosie, Narcissa and a designer for hours at a time, trying to iron out all of the details for the dress. To be completely honest, Luna was half tempted to have Narcissa and Rosie meet with the designer and decide what her gown would look like without her; after all, Luna just wanted to be Draco's wife, she really didn't care too much what she was wearing when she finally did marry him. The only thing stopping her from delegating the task to someone else, was that she'd seen a photo of Narcissa's own wedding gown, and while it was beautiful, it certainly didn't fit the style of her and Draco's ceremony, or Luna's taste for that matter.

While the matter of Luna's gown was simple enough to solve, the final guest list was not. When Draco had mentioned that he'd pictured them having a small, intimate ceremony, Luna had fallen in love with the idea. She didn't want to have to contend with a large group of people on such an important and personal day. Were it not for Narcissa and Lucius' ever expanding circle of friends, the soon-to-be weds, would have gotten their wish. Draco's parents were insisting on inviting all of their new friends and their families to the wedding, which meant that their small ceremony would end up being quite a commotion.

On top of having to invite their parents friends, Draco and Luna had bumped heads on more than one occasion, as to who they considered to be their own close friends. Luna didn't really categorize Pansy Parkinson, Draco's ex-girlfriend, as a close friend; but Draco did. This was a bit of a problem for Luna. While she knew that her fiance was loyal to her, she didn't trust Pansy in the least. Then there was the fact that Draco hadn't even seen Pansy since they'd graduated from Hogwarts; so why he considered her a 'close friend', Luna didn't know.

Not one to be outdone, since Luna put up a fuss over his wanting Pansy to be there, Draco made it a point to argue whether or not Neville Longbottom was allowed to attend. The problem with Draco's approach to contesting Neville's attendance, was that while Luna said that she didn't want Pansy there, Draco made the mistake of telling Luna that Neville wasn't coming. Luna didn't like that. After all, she was a grown woman, and she simply wouldn't stand for him telling her what she could and couldn't do.

"Where do you get off telling me that I can't invite someone to our wedding," Luna huffed, laying Landon down in his nearby bassinet, so she could devote all of her attentions to her and Draco's impending scuffle.

"You told me that Pansy couldn't come," Draco countered, not willing to budge on his position. "Why is it you can say that, but I can't."

"I didn't say Pansy couldn't come," Luna clarified, glaring at her soon-to-be husband. "I said that I would prefer it if she weren't there. I also said that having her there would make me uncomfortable. At no point did I ever say that you couldn't invite her."

"You threatened to never shag me again!" Draco said, noticing that she'd left that part out.

"I didn't threaten you," Luna scoffed. "I simply said that her involvement in our wedding day may _inhibit_ our future sexual performances."

"Which basically means," Draco mocked. "I'm not shagging you if that skank comes to the wedding."

"Hey, you said it not me."

"That's not fair!" Draco barked. "Look, I know I haven't seen Pansy in a while, but she and I were really close while we were at Hogwarts, and I'd like for her to be there. If you were still friends with Potter and his lap dogs, I wouldn't argue over you inviting them."

"Liar," Luna snapped. "Yes, you would. Why are you so gung-hoe about her being there?" This wasn't like Draco. Normally, he'd go out of his way to avoid this sort of argument. So for him to be so insistent about someone like Pansy being at their wedding, Luna knew that there had to be a pretty important reason for it, and he just wasn't telling her what it was.

"Because during the beginning of our seventh year, she cheated on me with a sixth year Ravenclaw," Draco grumbled, realizing that she wasn't going to let up.

"But you two broke up during seventh year," Luna said, softening her tone a bit. She'd know that there had to be a reason, she just hadn't expected it to be that Pansy had cheated on him. Who cheats on Draco Malfoy?

"We broke up towards the end of our seventh year," Draco clarified. "Three weeks into the school year, I guess I'd said or done something mean, so she'd figured she'd get back at me by screwing some sixth year from another house. Pansy flaunted her escapades right in front of me."

"Any you still stayed with her?" Luna asked, unable to believe that a Malfoy, let alone any one so full of himself, like Draco, would have put up with that.

"My father told me to," he explained. "He'd always planned on me marrying Pansy. It wasn't until after you'd brought up that we were related, how ever distant that may have been, that I flat out told him there was no way in hell I'd marry her. Eventually, he'd given me the okay to call it off. I'm just glad he'd said it was okay to break up with her, before he'd found out that I'd already done it."

"So, if she cheated on you, why exactly do you want her there?" Luna asked, still not sure about his reasoning. "I'd have thought that you'd want to avoid her."

"Because I want her to see how awesome things have turned out for me," he admitted, smiling weakly. "She really hurt me, and I want her to know just what she missed out on."

"Oh," Luna said, nodding. "I get it. She cheated on you with a sixth year Ravenclaw, and now you're marrying someone who, at that time, had been a sixth year Ravenclaw... Ironic, and kind of funny."

"I know its petty, but I'm looking forward to seeing her pretend smile at the ceremony," he admitted.

"How come you took it so personally when she cheated on you, when it was no secret that you'd bed anything that opened its legs." Luna asked, finding it a bit off for him to act so wounded by Pansy's actions, when he'd kind of deserved it for the way he'd treated her. "Don't you think you had it coming?"

"Yeah, I shagged a lot of girls while she and I were together, but it was always made quite clear that it was just sex. I didn't care about the other girls, and I certainly didn't respect them. I never bed the same girl twice, so there was no confusion over what my intentions were. After she'd been with that other kid, she kept throwing it in my face, and she kept going back to him. I never brought up any of the other girls, but I'd have to listen to her tell me that he was so great, and so attentive, and that he was the best she'd ever have, and she was in love with him. Pansy had never even told me she loved, and she was running around professing her love for that clown! Maybe I deserved a taste of my own medicine, but she took it too far."

"I guess," Luna said, not really agreeing with him, but not wanting to argue with him over how he should or shouldn't feel. "If you want Pansy to be there, than I won't argue it anymore."

"Thank you," Draco said, sighing loudly. "If you want Neville there, than I'll go along with it too. I just don't want him messing with Landon. He tries to be his best friend, and it bothers the hell out of me."

"Deal," Luna said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. In the back of her mind, Luna couldn't help but store what he'd told her about the numerous witches he'd been with while he was still with Pansy. Luna trusted Draco, and she would continue to do so until he gave her a reason not too; but admitting to being a philandering pig wasn't something she could just ignore. "And since you brought it up," she added, resting her forehead against his. "I was thinking about inviting Harry, Ron and Hermione to the wedding. The boys got out of rehab a few weeks back, and I heard that Ron and Hermione are back together. Since they've gotten their act back on track, I was thinking about trying to bury the hatchet with them."

"Please, don't do this to me," Draco whined. "Don't make me put up with them on our wedding day."

"You said that you wouldn't argue with me over this," Luna said, having expected that Draco was lying when he'd said he would be okay with her inviting his former enemies to their wedding.

"I'm not arguing," Draco said. "I'm begging... No, I'm just joking. I'll agree to it, if its what you want."

"I think its what I want," Luna said, giving Draco a sympathetic look while he pouted at her. "Besides, maybe you'll get lucky, and they won't even show up."

"One can hope," Draco laughed, just as Lanny started to cry. A few days earlier, the poor boy had started to teethe, and he was less than pleased about it. True to form, Landon made sure that everyone was well aware of his discomfort. Were it not for Severus Snape, of all people, Lanny's poor parents probably would have gone off their rockers, thanks to Landon's persistent crying. But, being the potions master that he was, Snape had invented a salve for Landon, that soothed his aching gums and simultaneously eased Luna and Draco's headaches.

Severus' willingness to help with such a menial task, surprised both Draco and Luna. He'd always been pretty unwilling to help with even the most important of tasks, so for him to offer up this salve with little prompting, signaled quite a unexpected change in his personality.

Draco knew that this change in his former Potions Master, must be due, at least in part, to his new and still secret wife. He'd known for months now that Snape had married and that they were working on starting a family of their own, but no one, save for Albus Dumbledore who performed their ceremony, had ever met her. Draco knew that the new Mrs. Snape worked in the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable, but as the name suggests, he didn't know what she did there. Truthfully, Draco doubted that Snape even knew.

Even though Draco had never met Snape's wife, he inwardly thanked her every time he came in contact with his former Head of House. The change in his attitude was great, and it made Severus much more pleasant to be around. And this was a good thing, seeing as how ever since Landon had insisted on Snape picking him up a few months back, after a brutal game of Quidditch at Malfoy Manor, Snape had made it a point to come by and see the baby at least once a week. Luna had been shocked when Severus had shown up at their home, claiming to be there to see Lanny, but after an hour of him sitting in the playroom with the baby and not being terribly mean to her, Luna's shock subsided and she worked up the nerve to offer him tea.

While Luna had been shocked when this event came to pass, Draco had been even more shocked to hear about it that night at supper. He was tempted to go to Hogwarts and ask Snape what he was playing at, but thought better of it. After all, why ruin a good thing; and not even Draco could deny that Snape's change in his behavior towards Luna, was a good thing. So instead, Draco bit his tongue, and waited to see if the man who'd, at times, been like a father to him, had ulterior motives.

Much to Draco's surprise, it seemed like Snape was truly being genuine. Draco was finally able to let his guard down, after he'd come home earlier one afternoon, just two months after Severus' strange behavior had begun, and found him and Luna in her painting room, discussing what sounded like her thoughts on the cure for Obliviate. His suspicions had been proven when he'd gotten a glimpse at the worktable, and saw her open portfolio sitting on it. Leaving them be, Draco went up to the nursery to wake Landon up from his nap, the entire time praising himself for giving Luna what she needed to start her research again. In the back of his mind, Draco couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't told him she'd started working on her cure for the Obliviate charm again; but he didn't let her secrecy damper his mood too much.

That evening during supper, Luna mentioned to Draco that Snape had brought up her portfolio while they'd been playing with Lanny, and that she'd taken him down to the painting room that she'd turned into a makeshift lab, so they could discuss it. She'd told Draco that Severus had, without actually saying it, apologized for chucking her research in the fire. He'd told her that it was one of the many terrible things he'd done in his life, that he just wasn't able to forgive himself for. That he hadn't just hurt her, he'd hurt the many people who could have possibly been cured by her research. It was then, that Luna had lied and told Snape that she'd started over, after she'd found out that her portfolio was gone, and that she could still use his help. Severus had jumped at the opportunity to provide her with whatever expertise he could offer. Upon hearing this, Draco's jaw hit the floor. He hadn't expect Severus to offer Luna his help. _'I guess everyone's capable of changing,'_ he thought. _'Hell, if my father can do it, and I can do it, that must mean that even Snape still stands a chance.'_

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	35. Baby's First Birthday

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 35: Baby's First Birthday**

On top of having to worry about their fast approaching wedding, Draco and Luna also had Landon's first birthday on the horizon. Since Landon was just turning one year old, they didn't plan on throwing a big party, but they still wanted to have a notable celebration. After all, your son only turns one year old once. Luckily for Luna and Draco, both their parents thoroughly enjoyed their role as grandparents, and took it upon themselves to handle the planning of Landon's birthday bash; citing it as their grand-parental right. Draco and Luna were happy to hand over the reigns, especially since neither had the slightest idea of how to plan a birthday party that children and adults would enjoy.

Since Lanny's grandparents were handling most of the planning of his party, Luna was afforded plenty of time to think back on how her life had changed; and to say her life had changed was a definite understatement. Every time she thought about it, Luna couldn't believe that it had only been a year since she'd given birth to her son. It seemed like the first time she'd held him had been ages ago. Even more surprising than that, was the realization that she and Draco hadn't even been together for a year: and yet their lives had become so harmoniously entangled with one another. It was the sort of bond that Luna felt would have taken a lifetime to build.

Their life seemed too perfect, too simple, and Luna couldn't help but worry that something was going to sneak up on them and ruin everything. Hoping to ease the foreboding tension she felt building in the back of her mind, the night before Landon's party, Luna decided to talk to Draco about it.

"Why on Earth would you say that?" Draco laughed, not understanding where her feeling like their relationship was doomed had come from. Everything was going wonderfully, and he didn't see any reason why that would ever change.

"I'm just saying," Luna shrugged, rolling over onto her back and staring up at the canopy of their bed. "Maybe things are going too perfectly. It's just not normal for things to go so well for so long."

"Don't you think you're just being paranoid?" he asked, rolling over onto his side so he could see her face. Scooching over, Draco cupped her body with his. "Maybe you and I are so perfect for each other that we'll never have to worry about anything ever going wrong."

"Great," Luna huffed, glaring at him. "Now you've gone and jinxed us."

"Jinxed?" He laughed. "Now I know you're being paranoid. Look," Draco cupped her face with his hand, forcing her to look at him, "Every thing's going to be fine. You haven't got anything to worry about. I love you, you love me... that's all that matters. There's nothing, and I mean nothing, that could ever possibly ruin what we have together."

"I guess you're right," Luna whispered, feeling a bit silly for worry over nothing.

"I am right," Draco echoed, loving the way it sounded. It wasn't very often he got to be right, so when he was, he really enjoyed it. "You're just stressed over the wedding and Lanny's birthday."

"I'm not half as worried about the wedding and Lanny's party, as I am about our engagement party," Luna said, sounding as if the thought of their engagement party pained her.

"Yeah," he laughed. "I'd be worried too if I had to try to impress my relatives."

"That's not funny, Draco," Luna pouted, glancing over at the dress form in her closet, that her gown for the engagement party was on. She was half tempted to rush over and slam the door to the closet shut, so she didn't have to look at the thing. But it was such a lovely gown, that she absolutely adore, so she couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

"Father promised to make it very clear to my family that you have his approval," Draco said, trying to sound optimistic. "They're all petrified of him, so I'm sure they'll listen."

"Not when they see the new and improved Lucius Malfoy," Luna joked. Since he'd formed a relationship with Landon, Lucius had done a complete one-eighty, and Luna and Draco had secretly been making jokes about it.

"Let's hope he can at least pretend to be the big bad Lucius Malfoy of yesteryear, while our family's in town," Draco laughed, knowing that the moment his father was close to Landon, he'd turn to mush. Once everyone heard his father's version of baby talk, they'd never shirk away from him again. Draco knew that Lucius' adoration of his grandson didn't lessen how dangerous a wizard he really was, but that didn't mean that their relatives wouldn't. Quite frankly, Draco hoped that one of them did challenge his father. It would be one hell of a sight to behold.

"He's fantastic with Lanny," Luna said, suddenly, completely shifting the topic. "I'm still shocked every time I see them together. I never would have been able to imagine how good a grandfather he'd make. I half expected him to torture baby's, not dote upon them as if they're the most important thing in his world."

"Hell, he wasn't even like that with me," Draco sighed, just as surprised over his father's blossoming into a wonderful grandfather as Luna was. "It would have been nice to have had that when I was growing up." Though he tried to hide it, you could hear in his voice, just how much hurt he was over the lack of fathering Lucius had done. "I'm glad that Lanny will get to know him as he is now, and not the man he used to be."

"Me too," Luna laughed, recalling the little incident in the Department of Mysterious, during her fourth year at Hogwarts, when Lucius tried to kill her.

"A year old," Draco whispered, thinking out loud. "I can't believe it."

"Me either," Luna sighed, resting her head on his arm. "He looks more and more like you everyday."

"Lucky for him," Draco said, only half joking. His ideals and values may have changed, but he was still as cocky as ever, and Luna didn't think that would ever changed. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she even wanted it to.

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Surprisingly, Narcissa and Rosie hadn't gone over the top with their plans for Landon's first birthday party. Luna had expected them to arrange some big get together for the entire Wizarding community, but instead they had planned a nice afternoon luncheon and play date with some of their worlds most affluent mothers with young children. Narcissa hated the fact that Landon didn't have any friends, so she hoped that this little get together would help to introduce him to some children his own age. Luna's soon-to-be mother-in-law also hoped that this would force Luna to extend her own social circle. She really didn't think it was healthy for Luna to have absolutely no friends, and she knew that Luna wasn't the type to seek out these sorts of relationships, so Narcissa planned on giving her a helpful push.

Though Narcissa wasn't pleased that Luna had isolated herself from her peers, Luna was just fine with the way her life was, including her lack of friends; or at least she pretended to be okay with it. Ever since Harry, Ron and Hermione had pretended to be her friends when they actually spent most of their time making fun of her, Luna had pretty much sworn off the idea of having people she was close to. But after all this time had passed, there was definitely a little voice in the back of her head telling her to try to patch things up with them. Though she hated making herself so vulnerable again, Luna had to admit she often found herself yearning for someone other than Landon or Draco to talk to.

The article in the Prophet had made it quite clear that Harry and Ron hadn't been themselves as of late, and Luna liked to believe that this hadn't been a new problem, but a long existing one. At least then she would have been able to excuse their behavior towards her. Her decision to invite them to the wedding had been one that she had been toying with ever since she'd read the article in the Prophet, but after speaking to Draco about it and him barely fighting her on it, she decided to go ahead and invite them.

When Luna had told Narcissa that she'd invited the Golden Trio, she had immediately objected. While she did want Luna to have friends, she didn't want her friends to be those who were responsible for the Dark Lord's downfall. But after realizing that this was a small step in the right direction, Narcissa agreed that it was probably a good idea to try and patch things up with them. Hoping to get Luna's mind off of those three, Narcissa made it a point to introduce Luna to as many of the mother's at Lanny's birthday party as possible. She was quite happy to see that after only an hour or so, Luna was actively participating in the conversations that were going on around her.

"Little Jenny's just started teething and she's been a complete mess all week," Annabelle, a young witch who couldn't have been much older than Luna said, rocking her fussy daughter back and forth in her arms. "I've run out of ideas on how to comfort her.

"Lanny was a wreck too," Luna said, softly, still a bit unsure of herself in a social situation with people she didn't know. "Fortunately, Severus Snape was kind enough to invent this wonderful salve that soothed his gums in seconds. The entire teething process went really well from then on."

"Severus Snape?" another witch asked, looking skeptical. "As in Hogwarts Potions Master?" Luna nodded. "Oh, I forgot, he's really good friends with Lucius."

"Actually, I think he made it because he's really fond of Lanny," Luna said. "I think he reminds Severus of Draco. Narcissa told me that when Draco was a baby, Severus made it a point to visit quite often."

"Do you think he'd be willing to share this secret salve with the rest of the Wizarding World," Annabelle asked, sounding hopeful. "My husband could probably get him a really great percentage of the profits were it to be put on the shelves. His boss is looking for new markets to launch products in."

"I'm not sure," Luna said, not knowing if Severus would ever go for something like that. "But you should definitely have your husband ask him about it when he gets here. Merlin only knows what sort of ideas that man has floating around in his head. They'd probably make him a fortune."

"Not to mention he'd save us some headaches," Annabelle laughed, just as her daughter began screaming again.

"I've got some extra salve," Luna offered. "I can go get it for you, if you'd like to give it a try."

"You're a godsend," Annabelle sighed, sounding undeniably relieved by the thought of a respite from her daughters screams. Seeing Luna stand to go retrieve the salve, Annabelle stood and said, "I'll come with you. I'd love to see Landon's nursery, if you don't mind."

"Absolutely," Luna said, brightly. As the two left the sunroom where the luncheon was taking place, Narcissa, who sat next to Draco, let a satisfied smile creep across her lovely face.

"Well, you should be proud," Draco whispered, so the people around them couldn't hear. He hated it, but his father had invited several of the families of his co-workers to the party, so he'd been stuck listening to office talk all afternoon. "Luna doesn't usually know how to handle herself when she's around people she doesn't know. But it seems you've roped her into making a new friend."

"It seems I have." Narcissa smiled triumphantly. "She certainly made me work for it though."

"No doubt," Draco nodded, rocking his dozing son back and forth gently. Poor Landon was tuckered out after only an hour of playing with other children his age. He didn't doubt it was a lot for the baby to take in; especially since he'd only really ever spent his time around adults, and they weren't nearly as much fun for him as other children were. "I'm not sure if I should be happy or angry."

"Why would you be angry?" Narcissa asked, staring down at her sleeping grandson. _"Merlin, that is one beautiful baby,"_ she thought.

"Because the more time she spends with her new friends, the less time she spends with me," Draco replied, nodding at one of his associates as he pretended to listen to what they were yammering about. He was beginning to get agitated by them. Blaise and Goyle were supposed to be there over an hour ago, and they still hadn't shown up. Draco couldn't wait for them to come rescue him from the monotony of his co-workers.

"Draco, you can't keep her all to yourself, now can you?" Narcissa laughed.

"No, but I can damn well try," he scoffed. Just then, Blaise and Goyle came barreling into the sunroom, laughing loudly.

"Well hello, Ladies," Blaise said, winking at them. Obviously, not even the babies the witches were holding was enough to make the notorious ladies man stop flirting. "You are all looking absolutely ravishing this afternoon."

"Can it," Goyle snapped, rolling his eyes and making a beeline for Draco. Without thinking, Greg reached down and took the sleeping baby from his best friends arms, immediately waking the boy.

"You moron," Draco snapped, knowing how much Landon hated being woken up before he was ready; especially when it was done so abruptly. Without missing a beat, Lanny started wailing. Doing his best to comfort him, Greg rocked the boy back and forth, making goofy noises.

"What's wrong?" Luna said, suddenly appearing behind Goyle, Annabelle following not too far behind. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Goyle lied, handing Landon to his mother. Once cradled against her chest, Landon's cries quieted. "I gotta learn how to do that," Goyle murmured, wondering how she got the baby to be quiet so fast. Luna and Annabelle ignored him and returned to the group of mothers who were enjoying a nice cup of tea.

"What took you so long to get here?" Draco asked, sounding annoyed. "I've been waiting for over an hour."

"Blaise had to stop and hit on everything with tits," Goyle huffed, pointing at Blaise, who did his best to look innocent.

"Language," Narcissa chided, smacking Goyle on the back of his neck, just as she'd done when he was younger and he'd used improper language.

"Sorry," Goyle said, offering her a weak smile. Pulling Draco away from his mother's earshot, Goyle finished his explanation. "One good thing did come from our being so late for the party. We overheard Pansy Parkinson pissing and moaning to Millicent about that little wedding invitation you sent her."

"She's mad?" Draco asked, smirking. _"Good," _he thought. _"Serves her right." _

"Oh, she's pissed," Blaise laughed. "She kept going on and on about how this was supposed to be her wedding to you that everyone was talking about, not you and that 'Ravenclaw mutt'. Her face was so red."

"Did she say whether or not she was going to come," Draco asked, curiously. He really hoped that she was. Granted, his main focus was on actually marrying the love of his life, he still wanted to see Pansy's face at the ceremony.

"She said that she was going to be there, and I quote, 'dressed to the nines'. Apparently, she thinks she'll be able to make you want her instead of Luna by wearing some ridiculously skanky dress," Goyle said, sounding worried. "Look, I know this is only Pansy we're talking about, but be careful. She can be a spiteful bitch when she wants to be."

"Don't worry," Draco said, smiling broadly. "Everything will be fine." Perhaps he was being too optimistic when he said that, but he really did believe it. Draco didn't think that Pansy would prove to be at all problematic. Apparently, Draco Malfoy had never learned just how spiteful a scorned witch could really be.

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LET ME KNOW IF THE 8'S AT THE BOTTOM ARE STILL TOO LONG. MY MONITOR HAS A WIDE SCREEN SO I CAN'T REALLY TELL IF IT'S MAKING THE SCREEN SCROLL LEFT TO RIGHT OR NOT.

FYI: I KNOW SNAPE IS REALLY OUT OF CHARACTER AT THIS POINT, BUT HE'S MY FAVORITE CHARACTER, AND I CAN'T HELP IT. THOUGH I'VE TRIED, I CAN'T SEEM TO ACTUALLY WRITE A LENGTHY STORY ABOUT HIM, CAUSE DRACO MALFOY WON'T GET THE HELL OUT OF MY BRAIN! I'VE GOT AT LEAST THREE OTHER STORIES I'VE STARTED THAT HAVE SOMEHOW MORPHED INTO DRACO STORIES, WHEN THEY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO EVEN HAVE HIM IN IT : ( DAMN HIM AND HIS SEXY SELF!


	36. The Evil Aunt

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 36: The Evil Aunt**

Luna was already exhausted. It was only six-thirty in the morning, and the engagement party didn't start until six o'clock that evening, but Luna was already beginning to wonder whether or not she'd be able to stay awake long enough to even meet Draco's extended family. In the thirty short minutes she'd been awake, Narcissa and Landon had managed to drive poor Luna crazy.

First, she was abruptly jostled awake by Narcissa, who had barged into her and Draco's bed chamber without even knocking, at just six-o'clock that morning. Had she knocked, Luna and Draco would have been able to cover their very naked bodies with their duvet, but because she didn't, she was greeted with an eyeful. The worst part was that Draco and Luna hadn't realized right away that Narcissa was standing in the room, so they didn't really bother to cover up all that quickly, which meant that Lucius, who was walking past their open chamber door to get to the kitchen, also got to see everything... and I do mean everything.

Not accustomed to having to keep her voice down that early in the morning, Narcissa made no attempt to quiet her unusually chipper tone. Naturally, when Landon heard her, he began wailing, eager to receive his morning meal. Luna had hoped that if they didn't go into the nursery right away, maybe Lanny would go back to sleep; after all, it was still an hour before he was supposed to get up. Unfortunately, Lanny didn't feel like cooperating. Instead, he screamed at the top of his lungs until Narcissa barged in and picked him up.

As if Narcissa's disruption of their usual morning routine, coupled with the fact that her soon-to-be mother and father-in-law had seen her completely naked and sprawled out on the bed with their son, wasn't enough to make Luna crazy; Landon had made it his mission to see to it that his mother was driven completely insane that morning. Draco knew that Luna was really stressed over their impending engagement party, so he'd taken over feeding Landon that morning. Which would have been a good thing, were it not for Landon's seeming desire to ruin everything they did. Add to that, the ever present nausea she was feeling thanks to her nervousness over the party, Luna was about ready to break.

Not having really thought things through, Draco had given Landon his bath before feeding him that morning; and had even dressed him in his party clothes. When Luna had first come downstairs to the kitchen, groggy as ever and still dressed in her dressing gown, she didn't really notice that Lanny was wearing the adorable custom made baby suit that she'd picked up from the tailor the previous afternoon. If she had, she would have immediately stopped Draco from feeding Landon his mashed bananas; but she didn't, and so he did. For every spoonful that made it into Lanny's mouth, another was smeared across his once dapper little suit; not to mention a great deal of mashed bananas ended up in his hair. This was mostly due in part to the fact every time Lanny made a mess of his clothes, Draco would laugh hysterically. That was when Landon started smashing his breakfast into his hair, his silky long locks now matted and tousled every which way.

"Draco!" Luna shrieked, her voice startlingly high pitched, her hands covering her face. "What are you doing!"

"Giving him breakfast," Draco said, trying to figure out why she was freaking out. "The boy's got to eat."

"Why would you put him in his suit!" she snapped, picking her very messy son up, making sure to hold him at arms length. "Its ruined!"

"It was lying on his dresser," he argued. "That's where you always sit his clothes for the day."

"Why would I want him to wear his party suit to breakfast," she asked, as she headed towards the stairs, Draco following very close behind. "That would have been silly."

"How was I supposed to know?" Draco asked, softly. "I was just trying to help." Turning back to face him, Luna's tone and expression softened.

"I know," she said. "I'm sorry. Its just this party is making me a bit nutters. I know you just want to help, but your Mum really didn't start things out all that well this morning."

"Try to relax," Draco said, taking their messy son out of her arms and bounding up the stairs. "My Mum and Dad are here to help you with anything you need. Mum knows how you're feeling about having to face the rest of our family. It wasn't too long ago when she had to do the same thing. That's why I asked them to stay over last night. They're here to help... so let them." Without waiting for a response, Draco headed upstairs so he could give Landon yet another bath. "Mum!" he shouted.

"Yes, dear," Narcissa said, eagerly, as she came striding towards the staircase.

"Do you know any spells to get mashed bananas out of Lanny's suit?" Draco asked, as he tried to pick some of the larger globs of banana out of Landon's hair. The giggling baby making it difficult by wiggling his arms and legs wildly.

"Of course," Narcissa said, heading up the stairs. As she passed Luna, who still stood on the landing halfway up the grand staircase, she leaned over and patted the frazzled young witch on the arm and whispered, "Why don't you go take a nice relaxing warm bath. I'll make sure every thing's okay with Lanny and Draco. The party planners will be here around ten to start setting up. Rosie and you're father will arrive around that time as well, and your wonderful stepmother mentioned that she would be bringing a masseuse over with her."

"Thank you," Luna said, smiling at Narcissa. "I know that you're doing everything you possibly can to make this easy for me. I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful, because I'm not. I really appreciate it."

"I know that," Narcissa said, kissing Luna on the forehead. "Now get upstairs and draw yourself a warm bath. I'll send up some cucumber slices for your eyes in a bit. If those vultures see that you're tired, they'll take it as a weakness and do their best to exploit it." Taking Luna by the shoulders, Narcissa directed her up the remaining stairs towards her and Draco's bed chambers, before heading towards Lanny's lavatory, where Draco and the baby were.

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Narcissa was right. The warm bath did wonders for Luna. After spending nearly two hours in the warm water, she was as carefree as she could remember having been in a long time; not to mention her skin was quite water logged. Right on schedule, the party planners and decorators, along with Rosie and Luke, arrived at Malfoy Estate. Without waiting for dictation from Narcissa or Luna, the planners went to work, transforming the mansion into the vision that the designer had created for the party.

While the decorators were busy at work, so were the caters; occupied by the extensive and very complicated menu that Lucius himself had picked out. The Malfoy family was accustomed to fine dining and Lucius certainly didn't plan on disappointing them. In the scheme of things, Draco and Luna's engagement party was one of the smallest and most intimate parties Lucius had ever thrown, but that didn't mean that it wasn't causing him a great deal of stress and a great deal of money. He was spending an enormous amount of money to make that evenings event appear as if it were just thrown together; that this amount of opulence was the norm for their family. After all, his child only gets married once.

Lucius knew how important tonights party was, so on top of sparing no expense, he made sure to invite every living Malfoy relative, no matter how distant, and many of the Wizarding Worlds most prominent families. Luna's bloodline was less than pure, though both her mother and father had been magical, so he knew that it would be difficult for her to make a good impression on his family. The last thing he wanted to do was make it any harder for her, by not throwing a perfect party. By making sure that the entire family was there, he could avoid any idle gossip that would portray her in an unflattering way, since everyone would be there and would get their information first hand. But still, he knew that if anything went wrong, even if it had nothing to do with her, Luna's reputation would be ruined, and any hope of her and Draco's marriage garnering the approval that would ensure that family gatherings were problem free, would go out the window. This was Lucius' reason for standing over everyone all afternoon, making sure that everything was done to his specifications. If so much as one flower was out of place, he'd force them to redo the entire arrangement. He'd even managed to make three of the party planners employees cry, and one even quit.

While Lucius was occupied with his role as 'evil overlord', as several of the workers had started calling him; Luna, Narcissa and Rosie, were all upstairs corralled together in Luna's bed chambers, getting ready for the party. Just as promised, Rosie had brought with her a masseuse, who did all that she could to pamper Luna. After a full body massage, a manicure and a pedicure, Luna was on cloud nine, and doubted that even Draco's evil great aunt, Ronalda, could ruin her mood.

"I'm going to go check on Draco and Lanny," Narcissa said, her gorgeous gown rustling as she walked towards the door. "Blaise and Greggory arrived a few hours ago, and only Merlin knows what those four are up to." Luna just smiled as she let the hair dresser finish up her extravagant up-do. Normally, she would have left her hair down, but Narcissa said that their family would see that as a lack of effort on her part, so she decided to let them pin it up. Nearly one-hundred bobby pins later, Luna's hair had been twisted, tucked and pinned into a gorgeous mass of curls atop her head.

"That's lovely," Rosie said, her eyes teary up a bit as she gazed at her stepdaughter. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," Luna said, her freshly made up face still looking a bit too relaxed, thanks to the magic the masseuse had worked a bit earlier. "You look quite lovely yourself." Rosie smiled, as she walked across the room and retrieved a rectangular gift wrapped box from her bag.

"When I saw the dress that you had the designer put together for the party tonight, I remembered this lovely trinket my Mum had given me just a few weeks before she'd passed away. I thought that it would go perfectly with that gown. You don't have to wear it, but I'd still like for you to have it." Nervously, not exactly sure if it were her place to be doing this, Rosie handed Luna the beautifully gift wrapped box. Excitedly, she untied the ribbon and opened the box. Laying inside was a gorgeous choker with a mother of pearl cameo pin strung on pale blue velvet. The velvet somehow matched the fabric of her gown perfectly.

"It's beautiful," Luna whispered, not sure how the choker could have managed to fit so perfectly with her dress. "Thank you so much, Rosie. It will look smashing with my gown." Rushing over to her closet, Luna opened the door and drug out the dress form that her gown was on, so she could hold the choker up next to it.

"The colors are almost identical," Rosie said, glad that Luna appreciated the gift and actually planned on wearing it on such an important night. "Here, let me help you." Taking the necklace out of Luna's hand, Rosie fastened it around her neck.

"Do you think its too early to put my dress on?" Luna asked, admiring the beautiful pale blue velvet dress, excitedly.

"The guests will start to arrive in about fifteen minutes, so its probably a good idea to go ahead and get your gown on," Rosie said, as she began unfastening the buttons of the gown, so she could slip it off of the mannequin.

Though it took nearly ten minutes to get the gown off the form and onto Luna, she was finally ready. Standing in from of the full length mirror, she checked to make sure that everything was in place. Luna loved her dressed. She'd spent more time trying to decide what this dress would look like then she had on her own wedding gown. After many days of switching back and forth between various ideas she and the designer had toyed with, Luna had decided on this one. It was made of a beautiful pale blue velvet fabric that had a tightly corseted bodice, though you couldn't really tell that it was a corset, it just serve to make sure that everything was nipped in and tucked perfectly into place perfectly. She had specifically requested a scooped neckline that sat off the shoulders and led to three-quarter sleeves that were slightly belled out with white antique lace peaking out at the hems. From the cinched in bodice, the gown led into a tightly fitted pencil skirt that fell to mid calf and had white antique lace peaking out from under the bottom hem. Perhaps Luna's favorite part of the dress, were the tiny mother of pearl buttons that fastened the back of her dress shut. The finishing touch was the pair of custom made blue velvet sling-back heels that matched her dress perfectly. All in all, Luna thought she looked pretty fantastic.

"Well it looks like every thing's ready," Narcissa said, as she bounded into the room. "Those boys seem to have everything with Lanny under control, and everybody is dressed and looks more than presenta..." She had to stop mid-sentence, as she gazed at Luna. "You look beautiful, Love."

"Thank you," Luna said, her nerves starting to re-form as she heard the doorbell ring, signaling that their guests were starting to arrive. "Oh, Merlin," Luna whispered, "they're here." Before anyone could say anything, someone knocked on the door to Luna's chambers. Peaking his head inside, was Luna's father.

"You look lovely," Luke said, striding across the room and hugging his daughter tightly before pressing his lips against her forehead. "I just wanted to see you before you got too busy with the party."

"Hi Daddy," Luna said, glad to see him. Just the sight of him was enough to calm her jittery nerves... at least for the moment.

"So, this is really happening, is it?" Luke asked, suddenly. He of all people should be fully aware of the situation. He'd been rooting for them to get married from the get go.

"I think nows a bit late for you to be in denial," Lucius chimed in, signaling his own arrival. "You look smashing, Love," Lucius said, greeting Luna for the first time that morning. "The guests have started to arrive and I would really appreciate it if the two engaged people this party is for, would get their asses downstairs." Without waiting for a response, he headed towards the door. "Now."

"Someone's got his knickers in a twist," Luke laughed, placing his hand at the small of Luna's back and ushering her towards the door. "Let's go find your fiance."

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Once everyone had arrived, Lucius began introducing Luna to his relatives. He was happy to note that everyone seemed to have gotten his message and were attempting to put on a happy face. So far, not one person had said one mean or offhand comment to Luna. She'd even begun to feel like she could let her guard down a bit. They'd even managed to make it through the entire meal without anyone making her cry. To Lucius, this was a huge deal, seeing as how it had only taken fifteen minutes for his Aunt Ronalda to make Narcissa cry during their own engagement party. While he was quite happy with how things had progressed thus far, Lucius wasn't foolish enough to let his guard down. He was watching everyone like a hawk, and he planned on doing so all evening. He was most worried about when the time came to introduce Landon to his relatives.

"So, Luna, I hear that you and my great nephew already have a son together," Ronalda said, her tone hinting at her disapproval of their child out of wedlock.

"Yes," Luna said, nervously. She really wished that Draco was with her, but he was presently detained by his cousins, and they were talking at great length about the most recent Quidditch game. Luckily, Lucius was all ears, and he quickly came to sit right next to Luna, warningly glaring at Ronalda. "His name is Landon Cooper and he just turned one a few weeks ago."

"So when do I get to meet this boy," she asked.

"I'll go fetch him," Narcissa said, having heard their conversation from her seat a few feet away.

"You do that," Ronalda said. "Its about time you made yourself useful." Luna gasped, she couldn't believe how rude that old hag had just been to Narcissa. Well versed in how to deal with the verbal abuse that Lucius' aunt dished out, Narcissa didn't let it phase her.

A few minutes later, Narcissa returned from the nursery with a clean suit clad Landon resting in her arms. As she was bringing Lanny into the ballroom to introduce him to his extended family, the door bell rang, and Lucius went to answer it.

"Ronalda," Narcissa said, tensely, as if she were trying her best not to hex the witch to death, "this is Landon." Bringing her glasses up to her eye, Ronalda gave Landon the once over. She'd even taken his tiny face in her hands and moved it from side to side, checking his profile. Without asking, she took the boy from his grandmother's arms and held him up at arms length from her body. If she'd taken the time to ask how the boy liked to be handled, Ronalda would have known that he hated being held in that manner. "Luckily, he looks just like his father." Luna rolled her eyes from her seat on the couch.

"Oh, this is bad," Draco murmured, as he saw the event unfolding from across the room. Every time Landon was held like that for a prolonged period of time, he always reacted badly. As quick as he could, Draco tried crossed the length of the ballroom.

"Really, he hates being held like that," Luna said, standing from her seat and rushing over to Ronalda so she could take Lanny from her. Before Draco or Luna could reach him, Landon spit up right down the front of Ronalda's dress and her fur stole. With a look of absolute disgust, she let Luna take the boy from her arms, so she could spell the baby puke off of her clothing. Tensely, Draco and Luna waited for the old witch to lash out, but it never came.

"It seems Severus has finally decided to join the party," Lucius said, as he entered the room, Severus and a young looking witch following behind him, entered the room. Seeing the tense looks on his wife, Draco and Luna's faces, he began to worry. "Shit, what happened."

"Nothing," Ronalda said, nodding at Severus. "Its good to see you again, Severus, but I think its time for us to be going now." Heading towards the door, Ronalda signaled to the rest of her party that it was time to go.

"Wait, that's it?" Lucius asked, rushing to stand in front of his aunt, so she couldn't leave. "You're just leaving?"

"Yes, we've achieved what we came for," she snapped. "Now move. If you're waiting for their gift, they'll receive it at the wedding like their supposed to."

"So, this means you'll actually be at the wedding?" Lucius asked, hopefully.

"Yes, of course," she barked, shoving passed Lucius. "After all, Draco is my only great nephew, and his bride has proven that she spawns suitable offspring. So, I guess she'll do quite nicely."

"Yes!" Draco shouted, not having really meant to. Embarrassed, his cheeks flushed bright red and he tried to hide behind his mother.

"Well, if I'd known that puking on her would have made deemed me suitable, I'd have done it years ago," Narcissa grumbled, downing an entire glass of champagne in one gulp.

"So you approve of her," Lucius asked for clarification.

"Yes!" Ronalda snapped. "How many times must I say it. She is a lovely girl and the baby is quite handsome. Now get out of my way. I will see you at the wedding in two weeks." Now thoroughly agitated by Lucius' pestering, Ronalda and most of the guests that were related to him, headed towards the door.

"You're a hit," Lucius said, sauntering back towards his family. Though he tried to sound enthusiastic, his words came out more exhausted than anything. Throwing proper behavior out the window, Lucius flopped onto the couch and ran his fingers through his long hair, sighing with relief.

"I think someone's tuckered out," Blaise said, laughingly, flopping down next to Lucius and cradling his head against his chest playfully.

"You have got to get new friends," Lucius said, pushing Blaise away from him. "Did Ronalda even hold Landon?" he asked, taking him out of Luna's arms.

"Yes," Draco said, laughing, "and he puked on her."

"Stop it," Luna said, trying to control her own laughter. "It's not funny."

"Yes, it is," Severus interjected, drawing everyones attention back to his arrival.

"What made you so late?" Draco asked, greeting his former Head of House, happily.

"She couldn't figure out what to wear," Severus grumbled, rolling his eyes as he pointed at his wife, who stood just behind him. Peaking around Severus, everyone tried to get a glimpse of his wife, as none had ever met her.

"You look familiar," Draco said, recognizing the face but not knowing what name to put to it. "Have we met?"

"Not really," she said, softly. "I was at Hogwarts during your first two years though."

"Name?" Draco asked, still not sure who exactly he was.

"Sorry," Severus said. "Everyone, this is my wife, Penelope. Formerly, Penelope Clearwater."

"Shut up!" Blaise gasped, his hand clasped over his mouth. "As in the Head Girl who used to date Percy Weasley? The student?"

"Yes," Severus said, nodding. Clearly, he'd expected this sort of reaction, because he didn't seem too surprised by Blaise's shouting. "Though we didn't meet up until a great while after she'd graduated."

"Well, its lovely to meet you," Luna said, still not having a clue who the young witch was, but glad to meet her, either way. "You've done wonders on our Potions Master. He's down right tolerable."

"It took some work, but finally I was able to break him," she said, smiling up at her husband, a slight blush having crept across his face.

"I fought tooth and nail, that's for sure," Severus mumbled, resting his hand on the small of his wife's back.

"Well, now that the introductions are over with, I say we enjoy the rest of this party," Luke said, taking his wife by the hand and making a dash for the dance floor.

All in all, it had shaped into a pretty fantastic evening. Not only had Luna gotten the official thumbs up from Ronalda and company, but both families, though not officially yet, had become one. Now, all that was left was for the actual wedding to come to pass, and even that was only a mere two weeks away. As he watched his son and soon-to-be daughter dancing happily in the middle of the ball room, with Landon bouncing around giddily in his fathers arms, Lucius didn't think that things could get any better than they already were. Little did he know that there were forces, or rather a force by the name of Pansy, who was hell bent on bursting their perfect little bubble.

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I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE WEDDING. THOUGH, REGRETABLY, THAT WILL BE THE SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER. AFTER THE WEDDING IS THE EPILOGUE, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY MEANS ITS OVER : ( I'VE GOT IT ALL PLANNED OUT, SO I'M HOPING TO GET IT FINISHED UP BY THE END OF THIS COMING WEEK. AT LEAST THAT'S THE PLAN, BUT I'VE GOT RELATIVES COMING IN FOR THE HOLIDAYS, SO WHO KNOWS HOW THINGS WILL CHANGE : )


	37. The Big Day

**Happenstance**

**Chapter 37: The Big Day**

The two weeks leading up to the wedding flew by, and before Draco and Luna knew it, the morning of their wedding had already arrived. Luna was a wreck, and Draco wasn't in much better shape. Usually, he was pretty good under high stress situations, but for some reason, that morning he wasn't even able to shave without nearly killing himself. It was so bad, his father had to help him. Lucius hadn't helped his son shave since he was sixteen. He had to admit, it was kind of nice for Draco to actually need him for something. It had been a while since that had happened. Luckily, Luna had a bit more luck shaving her legs than Draco did his face, so she didn't have to ask Rosie or Narcissa to come and help her with that.

While she may have been able to get herself ready for the wedding without much trouble, Luna couldn't quite manage to keep her food down. All morning, every time she ate or drank, Luna would dash off towards the rest room, unable to stop herself from getting sick. It wasn't until Narcissa brought her some saltines and warm tea with honey, that Luna's upset stomach finally began to settle.

"Poor thing," Narcissa said, kissing Luna atop her forehead. "You're a nervous wreck." Luna just nodded.

"Better that, than her coming down with something the day of her wedding," Rosie said, handing Luna another saltine.

"Good point," Narcissa said, nodding at her best friend. "Are you feeling up to getting ready now?" Luna nodded and made her way to the chair in front of the awaiting hair dresser. The poor witch had been waiting for Luna to stop getting sick so she could do her hair, for over an hour now. Since it had taken so long, they were now officially running late, and she would have to hurry to get Luna's hair and make-up done in time.

Unlike at her engagement party, Luna had decided to leave her hair down, but she did elect to let the hair dresser curl it and use pretty hair combs on either side of her head, to keep the hair out of her face . Since the wedding would be during the afternoon, and the sun was sure to make its presence known Luna had kept her make up simple, using only shimmery eyeshadow, a pale pink blush and lip-gloss. Since she'd decided on keeping her hair and makeup simple, it wouldn't take up too much of their remaining time before the ceremony for her to get ready.

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In no time at all, Luna's hair and make were done and it was time for her to get into her wedding dress. The gown Luna had chosen was made of antique ivory lace and had three quarter sleeves. It also featured an off the shoulder neckline and a corseted waist, which bunched her breast up uncomfortably, but it looked nice, so she was willing to put up with it. Her gown was very fitted through the hips and front of the skirt, but in the back, just below her rear, it flared out into a long cathedral train. Since the dress utilized tiny buttons to keep it closed, Narcissa and Rosie had to help her get it on.

"My word," Narcissa muttered, staring at Luna's reflection in the mirror. "You're glowing." Rosie was too busy crying to say anything, so instead she just nodded.

"Thanks," Luna said, turning to face Narcissa and Rosie. Peaking over at the clock, she saw that the ceremony was scheduled to start in just thirty minutes, so they would need to leave really soon if they were to get to the lakeside venue they'd chosen, on time. "We should get going."

"Merlin," Narcissa said, looking at the time. "I can't believe how fast the mornings gone by."

"We'd better head downstairs," Rosie agreed. "Your father's probably having a heart attack since we're not down there already." Grabbing her bouquet of pale pink and cream colored orchids, Luna headed towards the door.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, nervously waiting for his daughter to come down, stood Luke, gently rocking Landon back and forth in his arms. Everyone else had already headed out to the venue hours earlier, so the girls could have the house to themselves while they got ready. Lucius had left it up to Luke to get the girls to the ceremony on time, but it looked like it was less and less likely that it would happen. As Luna began to slowly walk down the stairs, her father's breath caught in his throat at the sight of her.

"It's official," he whispered to her, as she came to stand next to him, "You're not my little girl anymore."

"You'd have thought her baby that you're holding would have tipped you off," Narcissa said, laughing. She knew exactly how Luke was feeling, even though she'd chosen to make a joke about it. It wasn't all that long ago she'd been crushed to feel the tethers between her and Draco being infinitely stretched, and she knew just how horrible and frightening a feeling it was. Her only comfort was found in the fact that she knew that Draco would experience the same thing, once Landon had grown up and found a woman of his own. _'That'll teach him,'_ she thought, triumphantly, however childish it was.

"So, I suppose there's no getting you to change your mind about getting married?" Luke asked, as he linked his arm with hers and headed towards the door.

"Not a chance," Luna replied, smiling up at her father brightly. "In fact, I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my life."

"Well, so long as you're sure," Luke mumbled, his eyes still filling with tears.

"I am," Luna repeated. "Shall we?"

"If you must," he said, leading her out to the carriage that was waiting to take them to the ceremony.

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Draco was a nervous wreck. He'd been dressed and ready for over an hour now, and had long since begun his nervous habit of pacing back and forth, which was driving his father, Blaise and Goyle crazy. They'd tried everything they could to try to take Draco's mind off of his impending nuptials, but nothing seemed to work.

"Sit down!" Goyle barked, staring at Draco as if he'd lost his mind. "You're driving me mad with this pacing business."

"He's right," Lucius agreed, pointing at the arm chair next to him, signaling Draco to take a seat. "Wearing a hole in the carpeting of this lovely suite they've provided you, won't make things go any quicker. In fact, it would be a miracle if Luna makes it to the ceremony on time. So, if I were you, I'd make myself comfortable. It'll be a while."

"Luna's always on time," Draco said, sitting down next to his father. He really hoped that she would be on time; Draco really didn't think he could stand waiting much longer. "Do you think you guys could give me a few minutes alone?"

"Why?" Blaise asked, tossing a cashew into the air and catching it in his mouth. "Do you want to spend a little while crying your eyes out over the fast approaching loss of your bachelorhood?"

"No," Draco said, throwing one of the small finger sandwiches the caterers had sent up to him at Blaise, and hitting him square on the forehead. "I just need sometime to collect myself. It's a big day for me, in case you dolts haven't figured it out." Not liking his son referring to him as a dolt, Lucius cleared his throat warningly. "Not you, Father."

"Let's hope not," the elder Malfoy replied, standing and dragging Blaise and Goyle up by their forearms, directing them to the doors. "We'll, head out to the altar and greet some of the guests."

"Thanks," Draco said, pouring himself a small glass of brandy.

"Don't get too carried away," Lucius said, pointing at the amber colored liquid his son was getting ready to consume. "If you need me, just summon me, and I'll be here." Draco nodded, downing his drink in one gulp.

For nearly twenty minutes, Draco sat in the quiet of his groom's suite, contemplating the event that was getting ready to take place. He didn't have a single doubt in his mind that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Luna, but the profoundness of one's wedding day wasn't lost on him. Forever was a very long time, sure of his bride or not, and he couldn't ignore the nervousness that had set in.

"My wife," Draco whispered, testing how it sounded coming from his mouth this close to the actual wedding. Of course he'd slipped up and accidentally called her his wife on more than one occasion; but now that they were getting ready to make it official, he wanted to make sure that it still sounded as perfect as it always had. Sure enough, calling Luna his wife, still gave him that same tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach. Too wrapped up in his thoughts, Draco didn't hear the door behind him opening and someone walking towards him.

"Draco," a familiar female voice said, her hand running along his tuxedo clad shoulder. Draco's head jerked around, knowing that it wasn't Luna. A very stunned Draco came face to face with a pair of pale thighs. Looking up, he discovered that the bare legs belonged to none other than Pansy Parkinson. A scantly clad Pansy for that matter. Blaise and Goyle weren't exaggerating when they said that Pansy planned on skanking up his wedding. Somehow, she'd managed to squeeze her body into a pair of too small white satin hot pants and a matching halter top. Not only did she look like a street walker, but the coloring completely washed out her pallid flesh, making her look quite ill. "Draco," she repeated, as he stared at her, his mouth agape and a look of disgust on his face. "I just wanted to thank you for the invitation."

"A letter would have sufficed," he said, standing and stumbling backwards, trying to get away from his way too close ex-girlfriend. "You should get to your seat."

"No," she said, trying to sound sultry. "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I'm with you, just like I was meant to be."

"Enough, Pansy," Draco said, taking her by the forearm and trying to lead her to the door. Not wanting her plan to be foiled this quickly, Pansy twisted her body around his, backing him up against the wall. Not giving him a chance to protest, she flattened herself against him, and kissed him. The moment her lips touched his, Draco started trying to get her off of him. Only problem was, she had a mouth like a blow fish, and she didn't plan on letting go anytime soon.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Lucius said, his casual drawl resounding through the room. Gripping Pansy by the back of her neck with the firm grip of his right hand, Lucius pried her off of his struggling son. "You've gained weight," Lucius observed, not caring that his words were quite cruel. "Girls with thighs like those shouldn't wear such short shorts. I do hope you'll remember that in the future." Not giving him a chance to say anything more, Pansy stormed out of the room.

"She just jumped me!" Draco said, trying to defend himself before his father jumped to any conclusions about what he'd just seen. "I was just sitting here and she..."

"I know," Lucius said, waving off his son's concerns. "She really has let herself go. I never would have told you to start dating her if I'd known she'd turn into a hag so quickly."

"To think, I could have been married to that," Draco laughed, nervously. "Father, I didn't want her to kiss me."

"You don't need to explain anything to me. I know you love Luna and you wouldn't do anything to hurt her. At least not on purpose. But, inviting Pansy to the wedding was just asking for trouble, though I do understand why you did it. Who wouldn't want to get revenge on someone who'd made a fool of him, but your desire for vengeance has put you in a pretty tight spot."

"How so?" Draco asked, confused.

"I don't for one second doubt that if Pansy has the gall to show up at the actual ceremony, she'll make her presence known... in front of everyone, including your bride. Let's just hope, she doesn't put her mouth on you again, and Luna sees it. She may be a fairly calm witch, but I don't doubt that she'll be hell to deal with when pissed off."

"Yep. Apparently, Professor Snape didn't tell you about how she let him have it in front of the entire class, when he'd told her that he'd chucked her research," Draco laughed.

"No, he didn't," Lucius said, smirking.

"Its the first time I've ever seen him blush because he was embarrassed," Draco said. For several moments, Draco and Lucius were quiet, before Draco asked, "Should I tell Luna what happened?"

"Not today," Lucius said. "If you tell her at all, I'd wait until after your wedding night."

"Good point," Draco said. "She probably wouldn't want my lips anywhere near her, if she knew that they'd been within a foot of Pansy. Hell, I don't even want them near me, and their mine." While Draco and Lucius were busy laughing over the joked he'd just made, the door came flying open and Blaise and Goyle came it.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love your Mum," Blaise laughed, nearly tripping over Goyle, who was also doubled over in laughter.

"Why?" Lucius asked, curiously. He knew that whatever had those two so amused had to be bad.

"She just let Pansy have it," Goyle interjected. "When she saw how that witch was dressed, she started ranting and raving. Kept calling her a harlot who wasn't worth a knut. It was priceless! I thought Pansy was going to cry."

"Well," Lucius said, feeling more than just a bit proud of his wife. "Let's just hope that my dear wife made enough of an impact to keep that tramps mouth shut throughout the ceremony. If not, we may have a very pissed off bride on our hands."

"Oh, by the way," Goyle said, stuffing a handful of cashews into his mouth, "Luna got here about twenty minutes ago. Luckily, she hadn't been with your Mum when she flipped out on Pansy."

"And let me tell you, mate," Blaise said. "She looks hot."

"What's new?" Draco said, only half paying attention, thanks to his being so worried about whether or not Pansy was going to try something else. Though he wouldn't admit it, Draco really wished he'd listened to Luna and just hadn't invited his ex at all.

"It's time," Albus Dumbledore said, peaking his head inside the door of the groom's suite, informing them that it was time for them to take their places, as the wedding was getting ready to begin.

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As she stood at the top of the stone steps that were situated along the hillside and led to the large garden side lake that had been chosen as their wedding location, Luna couldn't believe how many people there were waiting for her. This certainly wasn't the small intimate ceremony Draco had described to her, but it was beautiful nonetheless. The stone steps were her and Draco's version of an aisle, and they were staggered along the grassy hillside. It was a rather long walk down to the alter, and she could barely see where Draco and Albus Dumbledore, who was presiding over the wedding, stood waiting for her. As she heard the orchestra begin the wedding march, and felt her father leading her towards the first step, Luna felt a big ball of nerves forming in the pit of her stomach. Doing her best to ignore it, she allowed herself to begin her walk down the aisle.

After making if most of the way down the steps, Luna was wishing that they'd chosen a venue with a shorter aisle; her heels were killing her feet. Not one to let the situation get the best of her, Luna tugged on her father's arm, forcing him to stop. The sounds of their guests gasping, thinking that she had changed her mind, resonated through the air, but Luna just smiled at them and used her father for support, so she could bend over and remove her stiletto sandals. She really wished she would have thought the idea of wearing stiletto sandals through a bit more.

"Sorry," she said, laughingly, as she looked at the worried looks on their guests faces, "that's a heck a walk." Many of the witches who were close by, knowing exactly what Luna was talking about, laughed at her explanation. Righting herself, Luna continued her now shoe-less walk toward her groom. As soon as Luna was close enough, Draco stepped forward and took her hand from Luke. Both Luna and her father realized that Draco was deviating from what they'd rehearsed the previous afternoon during the rehearsal luncheon,and they tried to whisper to him to get back up next to Albus. Ignoring their words, Draco continued trying to take Luna's hand from her father. It wasn't until Albus took him by the arm, and led Draco away, whispering to him, _'don't get ahead of yourself,'_ that he finally remembered that they'd spent a great deal of time practicing exactly what they were supposed to do, and that he wasn't doing it.

"Sorry," Draco mouthed to his mother, inwardly winching as he heard the guests snickering, and saw the displeased look on his Mum's face. He even looked over at Luna and Luke, and neither could hide the look of amusement on their faces. Instantly, his cheeks turned bright red.

"Calm down," Albus said, to the guests, as the laughing spread, "our dear Draco is just a big over eager to get things moving."

"He just wants to hurry up so they can get on with the honeymoon," Blaise joked, high fiving Goyle from their front row seats.

"Blaise," Lucius hissed, warningly, as he glared at the boys. Hearing the people laugh, caused Landon, who was sitting in Lucius' lap for the ceremony, to giggle and flail about; thinking that everyone was trying to goad him into being his usual adorable self.

"Dada," Lanny mumbled, stretching his arms out in the direction of his father, who stood just a few feet away. Draco had to do a double take. Lanny had only ever really called him Mama, and when he heard his son address him properly, his jaw dropped. When Draco didn't start praising him right away, Landon started shouting Dada even louder, over and over again. "Dada! Dada! Dada!" Draco rushed over and took his son from Lucius, fussing over him for finally calling out for him.

"I don't bloody well believe it!" Draco enthused, showering Lanny with kisses; which was heaven for the spotlight loving baby. "It took you long enough."

"Better late then never," Luna said, leaning over and kissing her son on the forehead.

"Shall we?" Albus interrupted, playfully petting Landon's hair. Draco nodded and made to hand his son back over to Lucius, but Lanny wasn't having it. The moment his father tried to move away, Landon erupted into a fit. Within a moment, Draco had gathered Lanny back into his arms, and slightly embarrassed, returned to his spot next to Albus. "Maybe you should have your mother hold him" Albus suggested.

"No," Luna said. "He's not going to go for that. He's been really fussy all morning. Draco can hold him." Albus smiled, and nodded at Luna, clearing his throat before beginning the ceremony. Since Landon had seen fit to completely throw things into disarray, their previous afternoons rehearsal had gone out the window, and Albus decided to just start the actual exchanging of vows.

"Two lives, two people, so very different, yet so similar. Together, you stand as one, sharing your future, as it comes. The past is just that... past. The true buds of your love have yet to blossom, but with care and trust, the best is yet to be revealed." Taking Luna's right hand into his, Albus placed it within the palm of Draco's only free hand, as the other was occupied with holding Lanny. "Before you are joined together in marriage, in my presence and in the presence of these, your family and witnesses, I am bound to remind you of the solemn and firm nature of the relationship into which you are about to enter. Marriage, as most of us understand it, is the voluntary commitment of a man to a woman, and a woman to a man; to the exclusion of all others, and is entered into with the desire, the hope and the firm intention that it will last for life." Before continuing, Albus looked back and forth between Luna and Draco, searching for the slightest hint of apprehension on either of their faces. Seeing none, he went on. "This is the time that you have chosen to become husband and wife. We are here, not only to witness your commitment to each other, but to wish you every happiness in your future life together. Marriage is founded on sincerity and understanding; which leads to tolerance, confidence and trust. We believe that those qualities, which have attracted you both to each other, can be best developed during a life spent together. A happy marriage will enable you to establish a home with love and stability; where your family and friends will always be welcome. While you both may be confident in your readiness to commit your lives to one another, I must ask, is there anyone present who feels that these two people ought not be bound to one another from this day forward?"

"I do!" a shrill female voice shouted out. Loud gasps filled the area, as people stared up at the still inappropriately dressed Pansy Parkinson. Albus sighed loudly, silently wondering why anyone would have bothered inviting her to the wedding. "I can't let you marry her!"

"Funny," Draco said, embarrassed, "I don't recall asking for your permission."

"I love you," Pansy said. "I know that things haven't always been perfect between us, but I really think its important that we try to work things out... especially now."

"What do you mean especially now?" Luna snapped, rolling her eyes. She knew that inviting Pansy to the wedding would end badly, but Draco just wouldn't listen and now, on their wedding day, they were having to listen to this rubbish.

"I'm pregnant," she said.

"Oh, now I've had enough!" Narcissa shouted, before anyone had a chance to respond to Pansy's outlandish claim.

"I didn't..." Draco stammered, to Luna. "I never..."

"I know that," Luna assured him, stroking his cheek as they watched his mother storm down the aisle towards Pansy. As soon as she reached the brunette witch, Narcissa's hand was raised, and came down hard across Pansy's pallid face with a resounding _whack!_

"You listen to me, you obnoxious little whore. You will not ruin my baby's wedding day. He's been waiting a nice long time to marry Luna, and I'll be damned if I'm going to stand by and force my son and his bride, not to mention, our guests, listen to whatever filthy lies you plan on spreading. The smartest move Draco ever made, next to falling in love with Luna, is dumping your sorry ass. Now, you have a couple of choices. You can either turn around and leave of your own accord, or I can drag you out of here by that stringy grease ridden mess that you call hair. The choice is yours." For several seconds, Pansy stared at Narcissa, a terrified look on her face, before dashing away from the ceremony as quickly as she could. Turning on her heels, Narcissa faced her guests and offered up an apology for Pansy's outburst. "What can I say," she laughed, "Draco's a hard wizard to move past." The guests laughed at her joke, and Narcissa made her way to the seat, signaling to Albus to continue.

"Well, that was interesting," Albus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, warily. "Now, where was I?"

"Doesn't matter where you were," Draco said, the coloring gone from his face. "Just get to the vows. Get us married... before Pansy comes back." Luna laughed, unable to stifle it. Draco looked so panicked by Pansy's interruption. Perhaps, if she'd been aware of the incident that had occurred earlier that afternoon in the grooms suite, Luna would have been a bit more worried about Pansy trying yet again to get Draco to change his mind. So far, she'd made two attempts, and Draco was kind of worried that there might be a third.

"Alright then," Albus said, understanding where Draco's desire to speed things along was coming from. "Draco, please recite your vows to your bride."

"I, Draco, affirm my love to you, Luna, as I invite you to share my life. I promise always to respect your needs. I will endeavor through kindness, unselfishness and trust to achieve the warm rich life we now look forward to. To this end, I call upon all present to witness that I take you, Luna, to be my lawful wedded wife; to have and to hold, from this day forward; for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, so long as we both shall live." Just as Draco was finishing his vows, Landon reached up and grabbed hold of his lips, staring at them fascinated. Laughing softly, Albus turned to address Luna.

"Luna please recite your vows to your groom."

"I, Luna, affirm my love to you, Draco, as I invite you to share my life. I promise always to respect your needs. I will endeavor through kindness, unselfishness and trust to achieve the warm rich life we now look forward to. To this end, I call upon all present to witness that I take you, Draco, to be my lawful wedded husband; to have and to hold, from this day forward; for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, so long as we both shall live."

"Draco," Albus said. "Take this ring; I deliver it upon you." Draco took the platinum diamond ring and matching diamond encrusted wedding band from Albus with his free hand, careful not to jostle Landon, who had calmed down. "Placing this ring on the fourth finger, or your brides left hand, repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring," Draco said, "I thee wed."

"Luna," Albus said, repeating the actions he'd just done with Draco. "Take this ring; I deliver it upon you." Much like Luna's wedding band, though wider, Draco's ring was also made of platinum and had diamonds set into it. "Repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring," Luna repeated, as she stared up at the love of her life; their son resting peacefully against his chest. "I thee wed." And she meant it. She really meant it. There was nothing more she'd ever wanted than to be that man's wife, and she highly doubted that she'd would ever want for anything, now that she was so close to having him.

"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited, it is never rude or selfish, it does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's faults, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope. It is always ready to endure whatever comes. True love does not come to an end." Albus took both Draco and Luna's left hands, and placed them palm to palm. "You have declared before all of us that you will live together in marriage. You have made special promises to each other, which have been symbolized by the joining of hands, taking of vows and the giving and receiving of two ring's. By the authority vested in me, by the Order of Merlin, I now pronounce you to be husband and wife. Now that the ceremony is over and the experience of living together day by day is about to begin, go and meet it gladly. You may now kiss your bride." Careful not to disturb Landon's nap, Draco leaned forward and kissed his new wife. Little good their being careful not to wake Lanny did, seeing as how everyone began applauding loudly, instantly waking the baby, who erupted into loud cries. Breaking apart, Luna took Lanny out of Draco's arms and consoled him, as the newly married couple walked back up the aisle.

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"So, how does it feel to officially be Mrs. Draco Malfoy?" Draco asked, as he and Luna slowly swayed across the dance floor, the song 'Only You' playing in the background. After eating and listening to all of the toasts, Draco and Luna had started dancing, barely stopping in between songs. Even Landon, who was now lying down for a nap in one of the back rooms being watched by Narcissa, had joined in on the fun a bit earlier. When he realized that a dancing baby always gets people's attention, it had taken nearly twenty minutes to convince Lanny to stop dancing so he could lay down for his nap. That was when Draco declared to everyone that his son was the 'life of the party'. "Do you feel as completely satisfied, as I do?"

"Yes... Like all my dreams are coming through," Luna said. Though it sort of sounded like she was being sarcastic, Luna was being completely serious. She really did feel like all of her dreams had come true. Since she was so happy, she felt that it was only appropriate to make sure that Draco was just as happy. "I've got some news for you."

"What?" Draco asked, still kind of wary that maybe Pansy had mentioned something else to Luna.

"I went to see the medi-witch earlier this week," she said, smiling as she rested her head against Draco's shoulder, still dancing. "I'm pregnant."

"With a baby?" Draco asked, sounding hopeful. Had he been thinking clearly he probably wouldn't have asked such a ridiculous question.

"No, a duck, and I'm not looking for to the delivery," she joked, looking up at him. "Of course, its a baby."

"This is fantastic!" Draco exclaimed, overcome with happiness. Though he hadn't meant to, his shouts had gotten everyone's attention. "Is it a girl?"

"It's way too soon to tell," Luna replied, kissing Draco. "I'm only about five weeks along."

"What's fantastic?" Blaise asked, nosily, leaning away from his dance partner so he could impede on Draco and Luna's conversation.

"Luna's pregnant," Draco enthused, careful to keep his voice lower this time.

"You knocked her up again!" Blaise exclaimed, unintentionally shoving the poor witch he had been dancing with halfway across the room, so he could hug Luna and Draco in congratulations. "That's wonderful. It had better be a girl. I'm getting kind of tired of hearing Draco bitch cause Lanny doesn't look adorable when he picks his nose." At this point everyone in the room was now aware of the young couples good news.

"What?" Luna asked, not really understanding what they were talking about.

"Draco's convinced that a little girl looks cute when she picks her nose, and that Lanny just looks gross," Goyle interjected, joining the celebration. Leaning in, he hugged Luna before the couple was bombarded with congratulations from the other guests, most of whom Draco and Luna didn't really know.

"Out of my way!" Narcissa shouted, tearing through the crowd of people who were surrounding Draco and Luna. When the news had made it to Rosie, she'd ran straight to Narcissa, who was still watching Landon while he napped, and told her of what had just happened. "Move, damn it!" Once she was finally able to see the young couple, Narcissa let her excitement be seen. "That's why you kept getting sick this morning... and when you were getting ready for the engagement party?" she asked, wrapping her arms around Luna and Draco simultaneously. Luna nodded, her eyes welling up with tears of happiness.

"Congratulations," Lucius said, leaning down to hug his son and daughter. "You're like rabbits."

"Yeah," a young witch said, as she made her way towards Luna. "Be careful you don't start multiplying the Weasley's do." Looking up, a very shocked Luna came face to face with Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

"You came," she said, hugging Hermione. Normally, Luna would have been a bit annoyed that three of the people she'd invited hadn't sent back their RSVP, but she was too shocked to see them to care. Though it was quite rude to come to the reception and not attend the actual ceremony.

"Yes," Hermione replied, her eyes teary up. "It was a beautiful wedding. Draco's mum letting Pansy have it was priceless."

"You were there?" Luna asked, confused. "I looked for you guys, but I didn't see you."

"We were hiding," Harry interjected.

"Yeah, we're spineless," Ron explained, his cheeks blushing.

"I could have told you that, Weaslby," Draco shouted, from his spot a few feet away, where his mother had his face in a death grip as she kept kissing him over and over again, going on about her new grand baby.

"Ignore him," Luna said, waving Draco off. "I'm so glad you came."

"We're just glad you wanted us to be here. After the way we treated you, I wouldn't have blamed you if you refused us water were we dying of thirst," Harry said, genuinely looking as if he felt bad. "I really am sorry for the way we treated you at Hogwarts. You didn't deserve that."

"Yeah," Ron agreed, "Me too." Hermione nodded, too busy trying to stop herself from crying to say much of anything.

"Everything happens for a reason," Luna said, smiling at them. "If I hadn't been so upset, Draco and I probably never would have gotten together. I don't even want to think about what my life would be like without him and Lanny, and this little one." Luna gently pet her stomach, which still showed no signs of being occupied.

"So, you really love this clown?" Harry asked, looking as if he didn't understand how that could possibly be true. Lucius overhead Potter's comment, and '_accidentally_' let his elbow catch the boy in the back of the head.

"Whoops," Lucius said, smirking.

"Yes, I do, Harry," Luna replied, giving Lucius a 'don't do that again' sort of look. Lucius just shrugged and walked over to his son, trying to help free him from his mother's embrace. Having composed herself, Hermione turned to Luna to ask the one question that had been on her mind for over a year now.

"Do you think we'll ever be able to be friends?" she asked, fearing the answer.

"Of course," Luna said, not knowing if it were true or not, but still wanting to give it a shot. There was no doubt in her mind that if she were to attempt a friendship with those three, things would be different then they had been while they were students; Luna wasn't about to put herself in so vulnerable a place as she had been.

"Good," Hermione said, smiling, just as Draco came up behind his pregnant wife.

"Sorry to interrupt," Draco lied, "But I'll be taking my bride back now." Without another word, Draco took Luna by the hand, so they could finish the dance that had long since been interrupted.

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IT'S OFFICAL, IF I EVER WRITE ANOTHER STORY WHERE THE CHARACTERS GET MARRIED, I'M GOING TO HAVE THEM ELOPE : )

THIS IS THE SECOND WEDDING I'VE WRITTEN AND I'M OFFICALLY OUT OF IDEAS. SORRY IF THIS ONE SUCKS, BUT ALL OF MY GOOD WEDDING IDEAS WERE USED UP ON MY OTHER DRACO STORY. I WAS TEMPTED TO CUT AND PASTE THAT ONE INTO THIS STORY, BUT I RECOGNIZED SOME OF THE PEN NAMES OF THE REVIEWERS FROM THE LAST STORY AND I FIGURED THEY MIGHT PICK UP ON THE SIMILIARITIES : )

HOPE YOU LIKED IT.

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	38. Epilogue Only the Beginning

**Happenstance**

**Epilogue: Only the Beginning**

"Luna Lovegood!" Snape barked, slamming his fists down onto the wooden work bench, his head bowed as he tried to reign in his temper.

"Malfoy... Luna Malfoy," she corrected, laughing at Severus' short fuse. They'd been spending as much time in their laboratory as they could, trying their best to finish up their test run of their cure for Obliviate. Twice they'd been sure that they'd had it, but after testing it, their subjects still suffered from the same symptoms they were trying to cure. Frustration had begun to bother Luna, but thanks to Severus' vast experience with having to be patient and wait things out, she was able to muddle through. Apparently it was now Severus' turn to lose hope. He'd already threatened to throttle poor Luna twice that afternoon because he was so frustrated with their lack of progress. "Why are you so cranky?"

"My apologies," he ground out, his disdain for making apologies more than evident. "But I'm beginning to think we're wasting our time. I hardly doubt the alterations we've made to the draught will be significant enough to change our results. Perhaps we should just throw in the towel."

"Rubbish," Luna sighed, approaching the workbench and picking up a vial which held a bright blue liquid. "Let's add the pixie blood, and see for ourselves whether or not we've just wasted the year of our lives." Before Luna's hand could move to pour the blood into the cauldron, Severus grabbed hold of her wrist tightly, stilling her. "Ouch!"

"Upstairs!" he snapped, wrenching the vial from her hands. "You know the drill."

"But..."

"Upstairs," he hissed, through tightly clenched teeth. Halfway up the stairs that led out of the workroom, Luna turned back around and asked, "Why?"

"The same reason I always have you leave when we're testing a new ingredient in our draught," he said for what seemed that like thousandth time since he'd started working with her. "I'll not have you blowing yourself up. I can list off about ten people who'd have my head on a pike if I were to let that happen, and quite frankly I don't want to have to listen to Draco bitch for the next fifty years." It was the same thing every time. Severus would order Luna upstairs while he did the dangerous job of adding the new ingredients into their brew. Fortunately, they'd only had a few mishaps, but nothing too dangerous. Either way, Severus wasn't willing to risk her safety, especially since she had a young son, the child she was currently pregnant with, and an at times, whiny Draco, to take care of.

"You know, you've got a baby on the way Severus," Luna replied. "I don't think Penny would be too pleased with me if I let anything happen to you."

"PENELOPE," Snape grumbled, sounding out every syllable slowly, so she couldn't miss them. "I hate it when you shorten her name like that."

"What don't you hate?" Luna asked, rhetorically, before turning and heading upstairs.

For fifteen minutes she sat outside the door, waiting for Severus to come and tell her whether or not the changes in the draughts had taken place. All they needed was for it to change from its dark brown color, to a pale, almost milky blue. If that occurred, then they were sure that they were correct and their cure would in fact be a cure. When he didn't come to get her, and she didn't hear a loud bang, signaling that something had gone wrong, Luna cautiously headed back down to their workroom.

As she entered, she saw Severus standing over the cauldron, staring down into it, silently. At that moment she was sure that they'd failed... again, but as she approached she saw the bright glow that the pale, milky blue liquid gave off; her breath caught in her throat. Standing right next to her research partner, Luna joined him in his silent appraisal of their months and months of hard work finally having paid off.

"I don't believe it," he murmured, breaking the silence that had over taken the room. Carefully, he began ladling the still steaming brew into little containers, so they could take them over to St. Mungo's for official testing.

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"Another batch?" the head of the Magical Maladies ward asked, as Luna and Severus entered the room, vials in hand. As he looked at his frequent guests, the ward head, Mr. Fletcher, couldn't help but notice that they looked a great deal more excited than usual. "Why are you so chipper?"

"We did it," Luna blurted out, excitedly, barely able to contain her pride over their achievement. "There's no question of it. We did it."

"I'll get a test subject," he replied, breathlessly, hoping to Merlin the young witch wasn't just full of herself, but that she was correct when she said they'd created a cure for Obliviate.

"We want Lockhart," Snape said, causing Mr. Fletcher to turn quickly back to them.

"Lockhart?"

"He's the most afflicted patient you have here. If it works on him, it'll work on anyone," Severus replied, busying himself with setting out the necessary tools. "Fetch him now."

"Please," Luna added, knowing that Severus wouldn't ask nicely.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Fletcher returned with a very chatty Gilderoy Lockhart at his side. A testament to just how damaged his addled mind was, came when Lockhart wasn't able to recognize Severus, even though they'd just seen each other a few weeks earlier when they'd come to test their last batch of their work. After listening to Gilderoy's usual routine of telling everyone of what little information he did know, they were able to administer a dose of their draught. Patiently, they sat and waited, not exactly sure how long it would take for it to start working. After fifteen minutes of just sitting and staring at the clueless dunderhead that was Gilderoy, Luna's nervousness got the best of her and she tried questioning him.

"Do you know your name?" she asked, suddenly. He just looked at her funny, not sure why she was asking him so ridiculous a question.

"One of the few things they were able to teach him was his name," Severus reminded her. "Do you know why you're at St. Mungo's?"

"No," Gilderoy responded, looking at his surroundings as if he didn't understand them; which wasn't unusual given his current state.

"What do you do for a living?" Severus asked, trying a new question. He wasn't sure whether or not his first question was the best one to start with. After all, he'd experienced a rather traumatic event and he might not ever be able to recall exactly how it had happened.

"I am the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Gilderoy said, cockily. "But you're probably more familiar with my book, Magical Me." Without warning, Luna launched herself at Snape, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly. She couldn't believe it! Gilderoy was as cocky as ever. When they'd asked him that question before, he'd gone off on some tangent about how good he was at connecting his letters, and then would insist that they let him give them his autograph. But this time, he'd gotten it right. Or rather, he'd been able to tell them what his job was right before he'd experienced the devastating backfired Obliviate. Unable to help himself, Severus hugged her back.

"What the hell?" Severus asked, suddenly feeling as if his feet were wet.

"Oh Merlin," Luna gasped, her hands resting on her bulging belly. "My water just broke."

"You think?" Snape snapped, looking down at his feet with a disgusted look on his face.

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"Mr. Malfoy," the medi-witch said warningly. "I'm going to ask you one last time to behave yourself. I understand that you're excited, but you're getting in the way. If you can't calm down, I'm not going to allow you to be in the delivery room. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Draco said, sounding like a little boy being reprimanded by his mother after doing something wrong.

"Your wife is giving birth," she added, "which is stressful enough. The last thing she needs is for you to be bouncing off the wall, peaking down at her privates while she's in excruciating pain. It gets a bit annoying."

"She's never had a problem with me looking at her privates before," Draco argued, knowing he should have kept his mouth shut, but not having been able to help it.

"Don't get cheeky," the old witch warned, opening the door to the delivery room, so they could get back to Luna, who's contractions had speed up so rapidly she was already ready to start pushing.

"Honestly, if you'd just tell me whether or not its a boy or a girl I'd probably be a lot easier to deal with," Draco said, as he walked past her in a huff, not really liking the way she'd spoken to him. He couldn't believe he was paying these witches a small fortune to deliver his child, and all they could do was berate him for being a bit over excited. The witch rolled her eyes at his comment, knowing that he desperately wanted their child to be a girl.

"You'll know soon enough," she informed him, getting in position so that she could safely deliver the baby.

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Though her contractions had progressed rapidly, the pushing stage had taken forever. Three and a half hours of pushing had exhausted the poor witch, but finally, the newest addition of the Malfoy family started to make its first appearance.

"Come on, just one more push," the medi-witch said, trying to encourage Luna to keep going.

"You said that like fourteen pushes ago," Luna snapped, really wanting to kick the stupid witch in the head. She said, 'one more push', like it was nothing at all; as if she were just asking her for the time or something.

"I can see the head," Draco whispered in Luna's ear, hoping she'd believe him when he said that they were almost finished. "Push for me... please." Though she was more tired than she'd ever remembered being, even more so than when she'd given birth to Landon, Luna mustered up all the strength she could and pushed. In less than a minutes time, Luna and Draco had their new baby.

"It's a boy," the medi-witch said, happily, as she cut the umbilical cord, wrapped him in a blue blanket and placed the baby in his mother's arms.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked, sounding panicked. Not waiting for an answer, he peaked inside the warm blanket to see for himself. Sure enough, he was the proud father of another bouncing baby boy. "Yep, that's a penis... that's definitely a penis."

"Um..." the medi-witch said, softly, still seated upon her stool between Luna's legs. "Nurse Stafford," she said, "can you take the baby and get him cleaned up for me. It doesn't look like we're finished just yet."

"What?" Luna asked, not liking the way that sounded. Draco was too busy overseeing the witch who was tending to his beautiful new son, to notice what was going on. "What do you mean not finished?"

"Can I get you to try and push for me, again?" the medi-witch asked, looking up at a stunned Luna.

"No, I've done my share of pushing for the day, thank you," Luna snapped, trying to shut her legs, but not being able to because of the stirrups.

"Luna," the witch said, trying to get her point across but understanding that the young mother's being uncooperative came from being exhausted, "It looks like you're going to have another baby, so I really need you to start pushing again."

"What did you do?" Luna snapped, tossing a plastic cup filled with ice chips at the back of her preoccupied husbands head, but missing and hitting the wall instead.

"What?" Draco asked, inwardly trying to recall if he'd done anything to make her mad, but not being able to come up with anything.

"Mr. Malfoy," the medi-witch interjected, "I need you to come back over here with your wife, so she can start pushing. There's another guest who's still in need of making an appearance today."

"What?" Draco asked, stunned.

"Get over here," Luna ordered, Draco immediately obeyed.

"Are you saying there's another baby in there?" Draco asked, dumbfounded. The medi-witch nodded, as he took his place at Luna's side. "Is it a girl?"

"Shut up!" she shouted, trying to ignore the pestering father's redundant question. "Luna, can you start pushing please."

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"I just don't believe it," Narcissa said, as she walked around Luna's suite staring down at the newborn baby boy in her arms. "Twins. It was so unexpected. You weren't nearly as big as you should have been."

"Thanks," Luna said, sighing as she reclined in her bed, Draco lying at her side, holding their other new addition in his arms.

"So, are you ever going to let anyone else hold her?" Lucius asked, peaking at the beautiful little blond baby girl that slept in Draco's arms.

"Not anytime soon," Draco admitted, smiling up at his father. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Gorgeous," Narcissa agreed, laying the new baby boy down in the crook of Draco's other arm, so that he was holding both of his new babies. "I swear, he looks just like Lanny did when I'd first seen him, but just a bit smaller." Draco nodded in agreement, and leaned down so he could place a kiss on his son's tiny little head.

"I don't think its possible to be any happier than I am right now," Luna declared, resting her tired eyes. "Not only am I finally not pregnant anymore, but I've two new babies... and I get to go shopping to buy stuff for our unexpected arrival." Everyone laughed, knowing how much Luna loved to shop. The young couple hadn't expected twins, so they'd only gotten one of everything, which meant more shopping and Luna was thrilled about it.

"So, have you chosen names yet?" Narcissa asked, lowering her voice, since all three of her grandchildren were sleeping.

"We're going to name him, Logan Noah, and we're going to name his little sister, Lorelei Bailey," Draco said, staring down at his two newborn children proudly. "So we'll have Landon, Logan and Lorelei."

"Those are beautiful names," Narcissa said, agreeing with their choices one-hundred percent.

"I agree," Luke said, not having said much of anything since arriving at the hospital. "Those names suit those beautiful babies well."

"Thank you, Daddy," Luna whispered, squeezing his hand, as he sat in the chair at her bedside. "You feeling okay?" It wasn't like her father to be so quiet during so momentous an occasion, and it was beginning to worry her.

"I'm just in awe," he whispered. "Never in a million years did I ever imagine that at the age of just eighteen, my daughter would have already done so much with her life. You've got a wonderful family, your ideas for the magazine have helped us gain some much needed notoriety, and you've completed your Mum's life's work. I just can't believe what you've done in so short a period of time. I'm just so proud right now." Luna's eyes teared up, and she wasn't sure if it was the sincerity of her fathers words or the excessive hormones that she was plagued with, but she couldn't stop herself from bawling.

"There, there," Lucius said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. "No need to get all worked up. Why don't we all head down and get something to eat while these two lovebirds collect themselves. I'm sure the medi-witches will be in shortly to tend to their first nursing session, and that is not something I want to witness." Agreeing with his desire to give them some privacy, Narcissa carefully lay Landon down into Luna's arms, before they all left the young family in peace.

"Could like be anymore perfect?" Draco asked, looking over at his wife and oldest son, as he gently cradled thee two newborns in his arms.

"No," was all Luna could say, as she gazed at her family, her father's words still hanging over her. Eighteen years old, and she already had everything she could possibly want. It was surreal, really, but Luna knew that this was only the beginning.

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YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN GREAT THROUGHOUT THIS ENTIRE STORY, AND I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL OF YOUR INPUT AND KIND WORDS. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING THIS STORY AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED WRITING IT : )

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	39. Need Your Opinion

SINCE SO MANY PEOPLE SEEMED QUITE FOND OF THIS STORY, I'VE BEEN TOYING WITH THE IDEA OF DOING A SEQUEL. BEFORE I START IT, I WANTED TO GET YOUR OPINION ON IT. I WAS THINKING OF HAVING LUNA AND DRACO'S MARRIAGE ON THE ROCKS.

I DON'T THINK ITS ALL THAT REALISTIC FOR THINGS TO BE SO PEACHY ALL THE TIME. MOST COUPLES TEND TO FALL INTO A RUT AFTER MARRIED LIFE CATCHES UP WITH THEM, AND I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE FUN TO SEE HOW THEY WOULD HANDLE IT.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. I'D HATE TO WRITE A SEQUEL THAT MIGHT UPSET YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THE FIRST STORY.

THANKS : )


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